


Dancing Away What the Heart Desires

by bluejaymorse



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Kinda, Love Triangle, M/M, Modern AU, Pining, a big deal, also ingo is a world renowned dancer, anyway i won’t overtag, dancer!inigo, he just doesn’t know it, he’s just dancing, inigo loves them both, its not the typical overused love triangle, meaning that inigo doesn’t even know he has to make a choice, owain loves inigo, xander loves inigo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-16
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2020-01-15 05:20:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 37,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18492187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluejaymorse/pseuds/bluejaymorse
Summary: Inigo is the world renowned ballet dancer, working for the Cyrkensia Royal Ballet in Nestra. After 10 years of dedicated work, and an entire world tour for an entire year, he decides to take a leave. It’s been so long since he’s seen his mother and sister. Turns out, his mother, Olivia, finally achieved her dream of opening a theater, only it won’t be in Ylisse, but in the country of Nohr.In Nohr, he reunited with Owain, his childhood friend, who always had a crush on Inigo; and meets Xander, the rich CFO of Nohr Oil Co. the most prestigious oil company in the entire continent.Unaware of the romantic advances of both of them, Inigo will come to realize that maybe, just maybe, he will find love.Alternatively: Inigo is oblivious and doesn’t know that there’s two hot guys going after his heart.





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome! haha.   
> I do not know how many chapters it will have as of now, but so far i have up until chapter 20 written. Who Inigo ends up with, Xander, or Owain, is entirely up to both you and me! You can write comments and tell who you would like Inigo to end up. Inigo is very oblivious, it will be easy, haha. 
> 
> Kudos are appreciated! Comments even more!

Cheering. Very loud cheering. That was all Inigo heard from both the crowd and the dancers. The lights reflecting on the stage moving towards the center, where he stood, taking a bow to the crowd, which just made them cheer louder. Azura by his side, also bowed, gaining the same reaction from the public. He held her hand and sighed. A content sigh, relief. After an entire year of touring the world with their ballet, it was finally over. It wasn’t his first tour of the world while dancing. Inigo wouldn’t be a world renowned dancer if he didn’t appear on many ballets or toured the world. As draining as it was, it was always worth it. Long, arduous weeks and weeks of work that made his feet hurt, his legs feel like they were on fire. They finally paid off. The training and practicing was all worth it when the ballet came together. Precise and beautiful. 

The curtains closed after what seemed forever, for the crowd wouldn’t stop clapping with every movement each dancer made. A ballerina in the back could do so much as nod and the crowd would go bonkers again. He didn’t mind. Every single one of them deserved it after the hard work. 

The curtains closed completely, and Inigo couldn’t help it. He picked Azura up in his arms, filled with happiness and ecstasy, and twirled her around. Laughing and smiling as he just kept turning. They had done many turns throughout the performance, but he just needed to celebrate that it was finally over. He laughed, and so did Azura. “Okay, put me down.” she said as she placed her hands on Inigo’s shoulders. 

“Finally!” Inigo said, his charming smile ever present on his lips. “It’s over,” referring to the tour, he started walking backstage where every single dancer was gathering their stuff to quickly get on a plane. Normally, they always celebrated, but this time, everyone had to take their own planes to their homes, meaning different schedules, meaning no celebration. “I can get on a plane and just go to my beautiful, comfortable bed back in my house.” the relief in his voice was evident. He wrapped his arm around Azura’s shoulders, who didn’t seemed bothered at all, dismissing it for Inigo being friendly, like he always was. At first she was put off by it, but ever since Inigo had stopped asking her out on dates, she didn’t mind his small displays of affection. 

“Poor Olivia.” Azura let out a smile, making jokes that she would only make with close friends of hers. She looked at Inigo, who pretended to be offended by her joke. 

“What do you mean ‘poor Olivia’, I’m an amazing son.” Inigo walked over to the rooms in backstage, every now and then one of the dancers of the tour would go up to them and congratulate them, only for them to do the same towards the other dancers. Once they reached Inigo’s changing room, he closed the door. He started putting the jeans on top of his tights, taking off only the official attire, leaving only the leotard on, too tired to take it off. “I haven’t been home for more than a month, every single year, for six years now. Buying a house would be useless,” Inigo rolled his eyes and turned to look at Azura, who, just like him, was only on her leotard and pointe shoes. “besides, mom doesn’t mind, at least I don’t think she does.” 

“She’s too nice to actually say anything about it.” 

“One thing’s for sure, she’s nicer to me than you.” 

“Well,” Azura said as she walked over to Inigo and took his hand. “Number one, she’s your mom, number too, you know I tease. She loves you, just like I do.” 

“Oh yeah? Then why’d you always said no to a nice cup of tea with me?” Inigo smiled as he raised Azura’s hand and kissed the knuckles, action to which she just sighed and smiled. 

“Do you ever take anything seriously, Inigo?” she said as she pulled her hand back, her smile falling into a deadpan expression. 

“I kid! I kid! I love you too, you were like a sister to me this past three years, so if you ever go to Ylisse, don’t hesitate to call me so we can hang out again, I bet mom would love to see you again!” 

“Likewise, if you ever find yourself in Valla, or Hoshido, don’t hesitate to call me either. My family has heard a lot about you through me, little Sakura is excited.” 

“Of course she is, I’m a world renowned dancer after all.” 

“Stop being a pain and get ready, you have a plane waiting for you, and i don’t think being stuck in Cheve would count as a good excuse to leave her one more day.” she said smiling softly, and left the room. Leaving Inigo alone. He didn’t mind, after all, she had to get ready too, to go back to her home. 

Inigo let out a small sigh, and started packing everything personal, which wasn’t a lot. A few shirts, a pair of pants that were all the way on the other side of his dressing room. It wasn’t much. After all, most of his stuff was already packed from that morning, and since it was a pretty busy tour, he hadn’t packed that many clothes. Sure, he travelled the world, but he did not get to see it. Meaning that half of his clothes were just dancing equipment, and maybe a few coats and shirts for when they went out to eat. “Thank Naga I already packed.” he muttered, looking at his two bags with relief. 

Grabbing his phone from his back pocket, he checked the hour, 12:30 am, damn early. His plane left at 2:00 am, so he had time, but he couldn’t wait any longer. He wanted to go back home already. Seeing his family again after an entire year was something that he always looked forward to, no matter how long and tiring the plane was to go to Ylisse. It was worthy if he could go see his father, mother, and sister. Putting on a coat and some shoes, he was ready to go. 

Walking out of the theater, he saw many of the ballerinas getting on the bus to go to the hotel and get their bags. A few of them saw him and waved their hands excitedly goodbye, and Inigo returned the gesture, throwing a few winks towards the girls, making a few of them lose their smiles and just roll their eyes. Whatever, he was used to it at this point (it did not mean it didn’t hurt). 

With his two bags in hand, he walked over to the sidewalk, cars rarely passing by this early in the morning. Looking for a taxi turned to be harder than he expected. Rare cars meant even more rare taxis. He wasn’t walking to the airport though. “I hate Uber, but desperate times call for desperate measures.” he whispered taking out his phone, wanting to get on a plane already and sleep. 

The ride to the airport was longer than he thought. Maybe it was the fact that he was tired, or that the driver wouldn’t stop talking about his personal life and problems, but Inigo just wanted it to be over. It was difficult to believe that barely an hour ago he was dancing his heart out and now he was on an Uber about to pass out from boredom and exhaustion. 

He never expected his career as a ballerino to actually take off as well as it did, most dancers never made much in the industry, but he managed to make it to the top. It had been far too long since he had seen any of his friends from his childhood, every time he came back to Ylisse, it would be to visit his family and go back to Nestra, where the most prestigious ballet company was. The one he worked for. As he scrolled through his instagram, he couldn’t help but let his fingers ghost over the search bar. What was of his friends? How long has it been since he had at least sent a message to them? Were they even friends anymore? 

Inigo just hoped that taking an entire year off would be enough to at least reconnect with half of everyone back in his home. And hope he would do. 

Once he arrived at the airport, everything was done like routine. He had gotten on planes way too many times before, they were like a car, except this car could fly, it was gigantic, and it came with cute ladies that gave you peanuts and ginger ale. Inigo was so tired that once he sat on his designated chair, in first class, obviously, he closed his eyes to finally drift off to sleep. An eager poke on his arm didn’t allow him to. He opened his eyes to see who was poking his arms, only to be met with a young girl, not older than 13 years old, looking at him like he was some kind of god. 

“You’re- You’re Inigo.” the young girl’s eyes shone with adoration. “I love you so much, you’re the best dancer I’ve ever seen in my life, you’re my inspiration.” 

Inigo blushed. If she was older than 18, he would mask his shyness with a pickup line, but he couldn’t try to hit on a thirteen year old girl, so he just stuttered out, “I uh- Thank you, do you dance?” 

“Oh yes, but I’m not very good, I barely started classes, I’m nowhere as good as you.” 

Inigo looked around, to see if this girl’s mother or father were around. On the other side of the chairs sat a couple, who looked very clearly rich (they had to be, if they could afford first class seats in the airline), and were both fast asleep. 

He looked back at the girl, and smiled. “Oh, but if you keep practicing, who knows! You may be even better than me in the future.”

“You really think so?” the excitement in her voice was hard to miss. 

“If you put the hard work and dedication, of course.” he said, still blushing. Not many people recognized him on the streets. In fact, almost no one did. Sure, he was world renowned, but it wasn’t like he was some singer in a pop boyband. Or a model who had a tv show. Most people who knew about him were ballet elitist and die hard dance fans… and this little girl. This was a total new experience for him. 

“Then I will practice hard every single day!”

The entire flight was spent talking with the young girl, about dancing, their favorite routines and renditions of their favorite ballets (which ended up being a constant “All of my favorite renditions are yours, Inigo! You just look so graceful during your pirouettes!”), and how young they started to practice. All Inigo wanted was to sleep, but he was too embarrassed to say so. He spoke with her the entire eight hours, and slowly his tiredness melted away. 

She reminded him of himself when he was younger, minus the exuberating confidence, the happiness she had when she spoke about dancing. The way she admired him so much. It was exactly how he saw his mother when he was her age. Like a princess. A goddess who came to graces the humans with her dance. He couldn’t wait to see her. 

Once the plane landed, he said goodbye to the girl after taking a picture, and stopped the first taxi he saw. As he put the bags in the trunk and sat on the backseat, he realized just how tired he actually was. He hadn’t slept in a full 24 hours. His mother was sure to scold him. Luckily for him, his family home wasn’t too far away from the airport, and they made it there in half an hour. 

He stood in the sidewalk with both bags at his side as he looked at the gigantic house. Taking everything in. The clear, blue sky. The birds chirping, the trees rustling, the sound of the dogs barking a few houses ahead. He realized how much he had actually missed Ylisse. How much he had actually missed his home. 

Looking around, he saw a few cars parked in front of the house. More cars than usual. His mom had invited all their friends. Well, maybe his sister. His mom was way too shy to invite many people to their house. Yeah, it was most definitely his sister. That’s when Inigo actually reconsidered entering through the front porch and maybe sneaking through his bedroom window to avoid everyone. But he couldn’t do that after an entire year of being away. Who knew, maybe… maybe they were here. 

He approached the front door, and was met with cheers and applause from everyone in the living room, making him blush madly and close his eyes as if someone were about to struck him. Once he opened them, all he saw was pink hair all over the place. His mother. He felt her arms wrapped around him, and he couldn’t help but relax, wrapping his arms around her too. 

People approached them but he just lost himself in his mom’s arms, even if the hug was barely a minute, he basked in it for forever. Once she pulled away, he looked at his sister, Morgan, who also hugged him. 

“Welcome home, Inigo.” his father said, giving him a small, yet proud smile. 

“We’re all so proud of you! I invited everyone so we could celebrate.” said Morgan with a huge smile, looking up at her brother, her pink hair a mess who knows from what. 

She was right. Everyone was there. His family was a given, but Chrom, Sumia, Lucina, Lissa, Maribelle, Brady, and Cordelia. Even Gerome was there, although in the corner, sulking. He walked over to Lucina, too tired to flirt with her like he always did even if it was just a joke between the two of them, he just hugged her. “I haven’t slept in 24 hours, come up with an excuse so I can go to my room and nap a little.” he whispered in her ear, almost begging for his comfy bed and a hundred weeks of sleep. She nodded once and pulled away from the hug. 

She took hold of Inigo’s bags easily and turned to all of them, “We’ll go unpack, be back in a while, it won’t take long.” she started to go up the stairs, Inigo following close behind, turning to look at his mother real quick. 

Once in his room, he didn’t hesitate to throw himself to his bed, and it didn’t take long before he finally fell asleep. 

~

Inigo woke up to his hair being brushed. With a small hum, he opened his eyes and saw his mom, blushing embarrassed. “Did I woke you up? Oh dear, I’m sorry.” she said, taking her hand back to her, clutching her necklace in her chest. “You should’ve told me you were exhausted, I would’ve stopped Morgan from calling Lucina.” 

“ ‘S okay,” Inigo mumbled groggily, raising his hands to rub at his eyes. Sitting down on his bed, he realized that it was late in the afternoon. The colors of sunset entering his window, making his room glow a nice golden color. He missed it. “I didn’t mind, you guys had good intentions.” 

“I’m proud of you, I know I always tell you but, I couldn’t have asked for a better son. You have to tell me everything.” she raised her hands to cup Inigo’s cheeks gently. Her eyes shone with adoration for her son, which made Inigo smile. 

“Half of the time was spent missing you, mom.” 

“Let’s go down. The majority of everyone left, but Chrom, Lissa, and Maribelle are still here. They’re in the living room, eating.” Olivia stood up and smoothed down her pants, as she waited for Inigo to actually sit down. “I know you probably feel jet lagged but,” she trailed off, blushing a little at the request she was making. 

“It’s okay, mom, I don’t mind.” Inigo turned so he could place his feet on the floor, and stood up. He still had his leotard on, and that’s when he realized, he hadn’t showered in two days. It had been so long, from the rushed ride to the airport, to go to his home, and to finally sleep, that he forgot he hadn’t even changed. “Just, let me take a shower first, and I’ll go with you.” Inigo rushed to the bathroom, hearing his mom giggle as she walked out of his room. 

Down at the dinner table, sat Olivia, Robin, and Morgan on one end, while Lucina, Chrom, Lissa, Maribelle, and Brady sat on the other end, leaving a chair in the middle between Lucina and Morgan for Inigo. It didn’t take long before Inigo walked down in sweatpants, a comfortable shirt, and barefoot. Once he saw the free chair, he didn’t hesitate sitting there. 

Inigo looked around, everyone’s eyes on him, and he couldn’t help but blush in embarrassment. “What’s everyone looking at me for? I’m feeling bashful…” 

“Just like your mother, perform for thousands of people, yet in the comfort of your house, you behave like a tiny mouse.” said Maribelle as she rolled her eyes. 

“Maribelle!” Lissa let out a small chuckle. 

“It’s true, look at you so tense!” teased Morgan. “So, how’s sleeping beauty been?” 

“Sleeping beauty?” Inigo looked at Lucina for an explanation. 

“You slept for 12 hours straight, which is not that big of a deal, Morgan.” 

“True it ain’t that big of a deal.” Brady spoke up, letting a chuckle escape from his mouth, making Inigo blush even more. “Ya’ were out cold. Lucina here went up there and was ‘bout ta kiss ya’ awake.” 

“Well I wouldn’t oppose to that.” Inigo winked, looking at Lucina, who rolled her eyes and went back to her food. The table went back to normal talk. At this point, everyone knew Inigo got too bashful to speak of any of the tours they went on. Everyone just congratulated him and went on with their lives. Inigo liked it that way. Ever since he started making good money out of his career, the fear that things would change grew bigger everyday. Fear that maybe his friends would leave, fear that maybe he would change. He decided to give the majority of his money to his family so they could do whatever they pleased with it. Mainly, it went to Olivia’s dancing studio, making it the best in Ylisse. Inigo was sure that it also went to the new room that his father and sister had made. Their very own small library filled with books and other nerd things. 

Inigo looked around, and that’s when he noticed a certain person was missing. Lissa and Maribelle’s other son, Owain. His childhood friend. Inigo hadn’t noticed at first. When he entered, all he cared about was his bed and a shower. Sitting down with everyone, and not hearing shouts of “My aching blood!” made the dinner feel at least a little bit empty. 

Everyone looked so unbothered. Maybe something had happened between them? After all, it had been so long since Inigo was at home. He felt guilty and out of the loop, but he needed to know. Inigo ser his fork and knife down, and turned to Lucina. 

He gestured with his hand for her to get closer, that he was going to ask her something. Once Lucina was close enough, he started whispering the question, “Where is Ow-“ when Morgan interrupted. 

“Hey! No secrets in the dinner table!” she smacked Inigo’s arm gently. Once everyone’s eyes were on him once again, Inigo scratched the back of his neck and stuttered. This was even worse. Looking at everyone’s expectant eyes, Inigo took a deep breath and asked the same question he was going to ask Lucina. His gaze locked on Lissa, as if asking her the question. 

“Where is Owain? I don’t think I- ahem, I don’t think I saw him this morning…” 

“Owain has been living in Nohr for the past six years.” answered Maribelle instead of Lissa, who just started fiddling with her own earrings. “He went off to college and has not visited us since. Only letters and calls,” 

“Which we appreciate!” Lissa butted in, interrupting Maribelle, who seemed to take this topic personally. Maribelle and Lissa had a small conversation with their eyes, and Lissa turned back to Inigo. “You see, he started studying theater, found some friends, and he’s living well, in fact! He’s about to open a theater!” Lissa’s demeanor quickly changed from the emptiness of a mother’s child leaving the nest, to a mother proud of their son’s accomplishments. Maribelle didn’t seem to share the same sentiment, but Inigo was sure that deep down she was also proud. Inigo blinked at both of them, mouth agape in surprise. 

“He’s going to open his own theater in Nohr?” Inigo hoped his surprise wasn’t as evident as he thought it was, but Morgan’s excited nod said it was. “That’s, like, one of the most expensive cities to live in. How did he manage to… I don’t think I want to know…” 

“Even better news! He’s opening the theatre with mom!” said Morgan as her hand pointed towards Olivia, who blushed in embarrassment and covered her face. Even though she was an adult woman, she never grew out of her shyness. 

“Yeah, Olivia’s going to Nohr for a few weeks, to supervise, since it will also be a studio… Your mother has been ecstatic. And, well, we were meaning to ask you something important.” 

“No, sweet, uhm… I- Well, now’s not the time. I-I-I’ll ask later.” whispered Olivia, looking at Robin with an almost pleading look. Robin nodded and dismissed the topic. 

The rest of the dinner was spent between mild mannered topics and friendly banter. When 9:00 pm came close, Olivia was already putting all the plates in the dishwasher, while Robin and Morgan sat on a table playing chess. Morgan getting too excited whenever she took one of her father’s pawns only for it to be a trap and win. Inigo missed it. He heard Lissa, Maribelle, and Brady say goodbye to everyone left and the door close, meaning they had left. Walking over to the living room, he saw the chess board now dismissed, while his father and Chrom spoke on the couch, and Morgan and Lucina looked at the tv. 

Inigo sat down on the floor besides Morgan, his legs crossed perfectly and his back straight as it could be, like a dancer that was conditioned to stay in perfect posture all the time. “What are we watching?” he asked. 

“Just browsing.” said Morgan, her hand rested on her chin as the other pressed the buttons on the control to surf through the channels. “There’s nothing good.” 

“There must be a movie, or something.” Lucina took hold of the control by taking it from Morgan’s hands, earning an annoyed ‘Hey!’ from the young girl. Lucina didn’t pressed the buttons as fast as Morgan, which gave everyone a chance to at least see what was on. Chrom and Robin had even stopped their conversation to look at the tv. 

They passed a channel, but Robin quickly took the control. “Put it back, they’re talking about the oil company scandal…” 

“The what now?” Inigo looked at his father confused, genuinely not knowing what he was talking about. He got no answer, he just left the channel on and kept it playing. Everyone looking at the tv stayed quiet. Apparently it was a huge topic and he had no idea. 

“Nohr Oil Co. claims publicly that it embraces the Hoshido Climate Accord, but what occurs behind the scenes is quite different. According to research, Nohr Oil. Co spent some $22 million on lobbying activities against the protection of the climate and stopping the pollution its causing. Of the 25 largest corporations, Nohr Oil Co. has via their industry associations, the largest negative impact on the climate of the continent. Confidential internal documents, and Nohr Oil Co.’s own film Climate of Concern, reveal that Nohr Oil Co. has been aware of the dangers of climate change for over 30 years. Nohr Oil Co.’s film notes that climate change may occur so swiftly that society will be unable to adapt to it. Nohr Oil Co. warns viewers that, among other things, many climate refugees will be created due to rising sea levels and other catastrophic environmental changes. The film concludes with the argument that “taking action now is the only safe insurance that we have”. Nevertheless, the company continues to focus on fossil fuels. Nohr Oil Co. has been extracting oil from Hoshido’s border for over half a century, which has earned it billions upon billions of dollars. Meanwhile, the majority of the people who inhabit the Hoshidan region never see any of these billions and are forced to live in the midst of oil pollution, which has left a number of villages uninhabitable. lt is said that—“

“Turn it off, I don’t like this.” mumbled Olivia as she reached for the control in Robin’s lap and turned the tv off. “It’s getting late, maybe you should get going, Chrom. And come by anytime you want!” Olivia hugged Chrom tight, and proceeded to do the same with Lucina, as if that would be the last time she would see them. 

Once everyone said their quick goodbyes, all eyes turned to Inigo. His mother looking even more nervous than normal. Normally when this happened is because they all had news they wanted to share. Good news or bad news, he didn’t know. Inigo just hoped they were good. 

Morgan sat on the couch, next to Robin, and Olivia blushed nervously. Robin’s hand drifted over to Olivia’s and held it tight, smiling gently. 

“What’s going on?” the worried smile on Inigo’s face did not pass unnoticed, Olivia quickly spoke up. 

“Oh! It’s nothing bad, I- I just don’t know how to say this, well,” her other hand went up to twirl her braid between her fingers nervously. “You know how my dream has always been to open up my own theater?” 

“Yeah! How could I forget?” Inigo remembered making a small, wooden theater with his father when he was about 9 that they later gave to their mother as a small gift. She had cried out of happiness that day. The small, wooden theater looked just how she had imagined it. It still sat on her bedside table up to this day. “You has a whole savings account on it before we had to move and buy this house.” 

“Well, these past five years, I- Well, you know how Lissa said, well, she said that Owain was opening his own theater in Nohr? He-He’s not opening it alone…” 

“Huh?” 

“Oh come on! Inigo, he’s opening it with mother!” Morgan’s excited voice butted in, her smile reaching her eyes as they shone with happiness. “And we were going to ask you if you wanted to dance in the opening night!” 

“Morgan! That was Olivia’s offer to do.” said Robin, exasperated, like she had ruined a great surprise. 

“Oh, Uh- Me? On the opening night of your theater, mother? But- But it’s your theater! You had a dance practiced and everything, I don’t,” Inigo hugged himself nervous. Performing in front of people was not what he was worried about, sure it still made him nervous, but at least he could do it. Performing on his mother’s special day and ruining it? What if he tripped? What impression would he give to the people of the theater his mother had worked so hard to finally open? He couldn’t do that to her! “I wouldn’t want to ruin your night!” 

“Oh but, Inigo, it wouldn’t really be my night if it wasn’t with you. With my beautiful, talented son.” 

“Gee, thanks mom.” muttered Morgan lightheartedly, not really offended. It still made Olivia stammer. “I’m kidding mom, I never learned to dance as well as you two.” 

“You could’ve. You just decided to never go to her lessons.” said Robin, looking at Morgan with a half smile and one eyebrow raised. No bite to his actual words. 

“What, are you saying you hated our times reading with the faint music of their dancing in the back?” Inigo remembered those times. Olivia has a room in the house where she and Inigo would go practice when he was barely a teenager. It wasn’t that great, an empty room with a good floor, wall mirror and a bar. The room wasn’t soundproof, and whenever they practiced, the music could be heard all around their humble house. “And here I was thinking you cherished those moments.” Morgan stuck her tongue out, making Inigo laugh. 

“It’s better I dance than Morgan does it, with her three left feet, she would burn the theater to the ground somehow.” Inigo stuck his tongue out at her, but quickly looked back to his mother. “and yes, I would love to dance in the opening night… wait, when does it open?” 

“In one week, we already have our bags packed, and Owain lent us a wonderful apartment for us to live there during the month we will be spending there.” said Robin, ignoring Morgan’s nudging to speak up. “We had everything planned, we just needed to tell you, and I was 100% certain you’d say yes.” 

“How long has this been going? How did you even manage to get it? Isn’t Nohr extremely expensive?” Inigo looked at both his parents, who didn’t seem troubled at the mention of money. 

“Remember the money you kept sending? The majority of it went to the funds of the theater, and with Owain’s help of being personally in Nohr, he could help us manage everything.”

“Yeah, so we didn’t bother ask you!” Morgan piped in. “Guess you’ll have to do a dance you already have or something because we’ll be leaving for Nohr in two days!” Morgan stood up with a pep in her step, a small jump. “Anyway, gotta go, it’s late, have to sleep, I’m a growing child.” 

“You’re seventeen, you’ll be an adult soon!” Robin said, watching Morgan’s back as she walked down the small hallway. 

“I said I’m a growing child.” 

Saying goodnight to both his parents, Inigo also stood up, saying he was going back to sleep and would start preparing his bags in the morning. Entering his room and locking the door, he took a deep breath. Happiness took over him and he couldn’t hide the real smile that graced his lips. Finally, his mom was achieving her dreams, just like he had achieved his. Promising himself that he was going to be with her every step of the way no matter what, he walked over to his bed and laid there to sleep. Knowing that maybe his year-long leave was going to be more hectic than he originally thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was just a prologue, that’s why it went as fast as it did. Hope you enjoyed !!   
> Kudos are appreciated! Comments even more!


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Packing and arriving in Nohr. Easier said than done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yayyy chapter one! this chapter is from inigo’s point of view. next chapter will be owain’s, and then xander’s, and then back to inigo’s. I hope it’s not confusing, but even then, i will always say in the beginning notes from whose point of view is the chapter being narrated.

Waking up wasn’t hard for him normally. He wasn’t a morning person, but he knew he had responsibilities. As tiring as they were, he still did them. So no, waking up was never the problem. But waking up with your teen sister jumping on top of you over and over again? That was a huge problem. 

“Fuck off, Morgan!” he pushed her off of the bed easily, eyes still closed as he groggily turned around. Morgan giggled and jumped again. What an energetic and annoying little sister. If there was something he didn’t miss, was Morgan jumping on his back and breaking every single bone in his body. 

“Can’t do, father said to wake you up, and I’m not leaving till you’re up and at it.” her chirp voice was way too loud against Inigo’s ear. He groaned louder in retaliation. “If you want me to stop, then wake up.” 

“I’m awake! Stop jumping, you’re almost an adult, you’re not lightweight anymore.” Inigo sat down, rubbing his eyes. The sunrise lighting entering through the curtains, letting a soft hue of orange grace the room. It would’ve been a sight to see, if his mood wasn’t already soured by Morgan. He looked at Morgan with a serious face, while she just stared back and smiled. They were in silence for a few good minutes, none of them breaking eye contact, when finally, after what felt like forever, Inigo pushed her off the bed again. “Leave! I’m already awake!” 

Morgan stood from the floor, a triumphant smile on her face. She wiped her hands on her clothes, still not breaking eye contact. “Mother said to have breakfast, and then you come and pack for Nohr, yeah?” 

“Ugh, Nohr.” Inigo’s distaste for the city had no basis, but it wasn’t like he heard good stuff about the country. It was a big country, guilty for half of the pollution in almost the entire continent. When he performed there, he didn’t even bother walking out of the hotel if it wasn’t to go and perform for the Nohrians. Being raised in Ylisse, visiting places like Regna Ferox, like Hoshido, like Izumo, he had an ideal of what a good country should look like. Nohr did not meet them. The industrialism was too much for him to handle, the constant sound of honking cars in the busy, rude city, and the factories that stood at almost every corner, owned by a single family. The De’Nohrs. 

It made sense that the De’Nohrs were entitled. He wasn’t an expert in the history of Nohr, but he knew that the ancestor of the De’Nohrs was a pretty important part in the growth of the small city into the powerful, economically advanced country it was now. They weren’t the rulers of the country, but they lived like royalty. He knew all this because of Azura, and he sure hoped she wasn’t biased because that was his only source of knowing everything about Nohr. 

Morgan caught sight of Inigo’s brows, knowing that he didn’t like the country very much, and reached over to smooth the lines away from his forehead. “You’re 26, no point in getting wrinkles now because we’re going to Nohr for a month.” 

“A month? Isn’t your birthday in an exact month?” If Inigo was correct, it was April 3. Morgan’s month was about a month away. “Are you going to spend it in Nohr?” 

“It’s not like we do anything special anyway.” Morgan shrugged her shoulders, looking genuinely unbothered by it. “Sure, I would’ve liked to spend it with my friends, but at least you’ll be there for me, and I missed you, brother… I missed you a lot during your tour.” 

“Don’t get sappy with me at 8:00 am.” he couldn’t hide the fondness in his voice. Even if he tried to hide it with annoyance, he was still smiling at his little sister. 

“Whatever, time to get breakfast, put some proper clothes on. Mom made pancakes and if you don’t come down quick, I will eat yours too.” 

Inigo didn’t have time to answer, Morgan had already ran off and slammed the door shut, leaving Inigo sitting down on his bed, still super tired. As much as he wanted to lay back down and keep sleeping, he couldn’t do that. As he slid off the bed and turned off the air conditioning, he decided to slip on the first shirt he found that wasn’t three sizes bigger than him, and some sweatpants he found on the ground. 

Waking up in his own room felt odd. He had been living in hotels during an entire year, sometimes even sleeping in the planes they took. His room felt like a breath of fresh air. He didn’t have to worry if the water was expensive or if he had to pay for the shower. Sure, most hotels weren’t like that, but it pays to be safe. He looked at himself in the mirror and winced. His hair was a pure rats’ nest. He would brush it later, though. Right now, his stomach was begging him to at least go down and grab some breakfast. He didn’t doubt Morgan when she said she would eat his pancakes too. 

Hopping down the stairs, the scent of pancakes was unmistakable. Like home and burnt batter. Olivia wasn’t the best of cooks, simply because she got distracted with other things instead of giving her undivided attention to the pan. So when entering the kitchen, the first thing he did was grab the spatula and flip the pancake before it was completely gone. 

“You need to pay more attention to the pan and not if the strawberries are rotten or not.” said Inigo as he turned and hugged his mom from the back. Olivia yelped, she hadn’t noticed when Inigo entered the kitchen, but accepted the hug nonetheless. 

“Leave her alone, I like my pancakes a little on the burnt side.” Morgan spoke up, shoving a fork full of pancake into her mouth easily. 

“Normal people don’t.”

“I just said i liked them.” 

“And i said, normal people don’t like them burnt.” Inigo stuck his tongue out, smirking. He turned back to the already done pancake and placed it on a plate. 

“Hey, don’t do that Inigo, you’re an adult man, act with maturity.” Olivia said, softly smacking Inigo with a tiny spoon on the arm. Morgan laughed. 

No matter what, he wouldn’t give up his life with his family. As Olivia kept cutting up fruits, Inigo decided to take over the pancakes completely, making sure that Morgan’s pancakes were a little on the dark side since apparently that’s how she liked them. “Where’s father?” Inigo asked after a few minutes of silence. 

“He’s out making sure Morgan’s school knows that she will be leaving for a month.” said Olivia, turning to look at Inigo while she spoke. Her hair fell freely down her shoulders, pink waves that reached down to her waist. If her hair was long enough when it was pulled up into a ponytail, it looked longer while it was down and brushed. “Morgan’s doing so well in her classes that I doubt her teachers will be mad.” 

“Please, I could give that class, father already taught me everything I need to know.” 

“Yeah, do you know how to do taxes?” Inigo mocked her, not turning from the pan, but he could basically hear the disbelief and fake offense in her expression. “I guess you’re not ready for life.” 

“School wasn’t going to teach me that anyway.” Morgan shrugged. “But that’s how it be in this bitch of an Earth.” 

“Morgan! Your language!” Olivia said, looking mortified as her cheeks tinged pink. Her expression looked as if she had seen the most horrifying event to ever cross her field of vision. 

“Sorry, mom.” Morgan looked bashful. “Got too excited.” 

~

Two days had passed, and Robin had taken care of everything regarding Morgan’s school and his own job. Inigo has already taken his leave from the company for an entire year anyway, and Olivia was going on a job trip. That’s what the theatre was, an actual dream come true, pursuing the career that she actually wanted. 

The four of them had their own bags, and for an entire month out of their house, they managed to pack well. Each with at least two bags in their luggage. Inigo knew the Ylisse Train Station pretty well, before he left to pursue dance as a career, he took the train almost everyday. The one train he hadn’t taken ever, was the International. It could go from Ylisse to Hoshido in ten hours, and that was quite a distance. 

Inigo knew nothing about trains, so he wasn’t going to pretend he knew everything. The three of them followed Robin, since he at least knew something. The train looked advanced, as if from another era from the future. A sleek design with a shiny silver, the automatic doors were taken directly from the design of a castle. Inside, leather seats without end, there was barely anyone standing up. A comfortable place to place luggage on the roof that seemed to be as endless as the cosmos. 

“This is… quite a train.” mumbled Inigo as he sat down besides his father, who looked up from his phone to look at him amused. “Why do I bother getting on airplanes when trains like these exist, you know?” 

“Because airplanes are faster,” Robin said like it was obvious, Morgan snorted, “and during a world tour, you want to get to the places as fast as possible.” 

“Being on a train gives me more chance to meet cuties, I prefer the train.” Inigo winked. The roll of his father’s eyes didn’t affect him, he was used to it. “It’s not like I got to go in many dates while I was on tour.” 

“Yeah, I don’t think that was because of your time management, Inigo.” Morgan said, she was sitting on the other side of their father, with Olivia at her right. 

“Hey, the adults are talking.” Inigo said embarrassed. 

“Aren’t I technically an adult? You keep saying that, you know?” 

“It’s a ten hour long trip, guys. Don’t bicker, I’ll go crazy if you do.” said Robin, pulling up his phone again, a smile on his lips. Just as much as Inigo missed his family, they missed him. Bickering was not a problem, when their son hadn’t been home for an entire year, and the years before them. 

It was the longest ten hours of their life. Or at least of Inigo’s life. Robin and Morgan has changed seats. Now Olivia was sleeping soundly, resting her head on her husband’s shoulder, while Robin held her hand. It was adorable. Inigo would’ve appreciated it more if Morgan wasn’t constantly bothering him and mocking him. He had tried to flirt with the girl across from him, which didn’t end up too well. She stood up and walked the entire way to the other side of the cabin. Morgan found it hilarious. 

Inigo took out his phone to look at his watch. 11:00 am. Still, five more hours to go. Morgan was playing some video game, finally focusing her attention on another thing that’s not Inigo. He unlocked his phone and decided to text Azura. 

To: The Love of My Life (Azura) 

It was a joke between them. Inigo has said that even though Azura didn’t accept his advances towards her, she at least didn’t slap him or kneed him on the groin. That made her the perfect girl for him, so she started calling her the love of her life. 

Just wanted to know if you were up to anything! :D I’m on a train and I’m bored ,,, it’s even more boring than airplanes

Once he set the message, he entered Instagram to scroll through his feed while he waited for a response. She often answered quickly. Having her phone always on her was good for when Inigo decided to text her out of the blue. It didn’t take long before the notification came up. 

The Love of My Life (Azura)   
I’m not up to anything. Visiting some family members in Hoshido, no more than that, to be honest.   
Why are you on a train? 

To: The Love of My Life (Azura)   
Going to spend a month in Nohr with my family. Hey guess what! ! ! ! My Mom Is Gonna Open Her Threater !!! :DDDDD  
**Theater   
You catch my drift! I’m so happy for her! 

The Love of My Life (Azura)   
Wait, she’s finally going to open it? Tell her I’m so happy for her, I can’t wait to go see a performance there!   
You’re going to open it in Nohr? 

To: The Love of My Life (Azura)   
Apparently so. Not happy about that >:(,,, don’t like polluted places 

The Love of My Life (Azura)   
Oh it won’t be that bad, I assure. If you’re going to spend a month there, I recommend you don’t act like a sourpuss, like you did in the tour when we were in Nohr. 

As he was writing his answer, Morgan leaned forward and looked at his phone screen. Inigo tried to hide it, but Morgan quickly snapped his phone from him. 

“Who are you texting? Do you actually have a girlfriend and you’re just hiding it from us?” she teased as she scrolled through his messages. Her smile falling when she saw it was just Azura. “Wow, you’re boring.” she muttered. 

Inigo just took his phone back and glared at his sister. Her eyes looking at him with a defiant expression, and an upturned smile. Inigo didn’t say anything and went back to texting Azura. 

To: The Love of My Life (Azura)   
I’ll enjoy Nohr even more of the ladies are as lovely as you. 

The Love of My Life (Azura)   
I should’ve guessed that you’re actually thinking of the ladies there.   
I should go, Sakura is calling me. 

To: The Love of My Life (Azura)   
Who’s Sakura? 

The Love of My Life (Azura)   
One of my Hoshidan sisters, kinda. I don’t have time to explain family, right now. 

To: The Love of My Life (Azura)   
At least I know a name of one of your million family members that you’ve never even mentioned! This famed Sakura will be my beloved. 

The Love of My Life (Azura)   
She’s like a decade younger than you. Anyway, good luck, Inigo! Talk to you later! 

It wasn’t that interesting of a conversation, but with hours left of the ride, it was entertaining. Looking around, he saw the same faces he had seen for the past five hours, and he was getting tired of them. The girl he had hit on was still at the other side of the train. Inigo felt embarrassed every time he looked at her. He picked at his nails, he tapped the window, he played with Morgan’s hair. He was still bored. 

As a last resort, he pulled out his headphones, and decided to listen to music quietly for the rest of the train. Putting his playlist on shuffle, he closed his eyes and rested his head on his father’s shoulder. Even with the headphones on, he could hear Morgan snicker softly at the face his father was making. 

As he rested his eyes, he thought, would Nohr really would be better than he expected? When he went there for the tour, he hadn’t walked out of his hotel at all because there was a clear smell of smoke that he just couldn’t handle. Now that he thought about it, it could’ve been a smoker that just followed him around. He didn’t give the place a chance, but even if he wanted to, it wasn’t like Nohr was considered the best of places. According to every single news source, there was a lot of corruption among the rich. Besides, polluting the air and harming foreign territory to theirs? Awful. Poor Hoshido. 

Inigo just shifted a little in his seat, when by miracle, he finally fell asleep. 

~ 

The feeling of being gently nudged awoke him. He could feel a small line of drool down his chin, and the headphones were still on his ears. No music, since he had no battery left. The sound of compartment doors being opened, luggage hitting the harsh floor of the train, and constant chattering made his eyes snap awake. They were here. 

He could see Robin and Morgan putting their own luggage down on the floor. Looking through the window of the train, he saw the cloudy skies and the busy people walking around minding their own business. He saw a bunch of people who looked sketchy enough to be thieves, but rich enough to not need to steal. 

As Olivia kept judging him awake, he decided to wipe the drool off of his chin almost immediately, and smile softly. “Guess I fell asleep, huh?” he smiled. 

As soon as they all had their own bags, they walked out of the train and almost as soon, out of the train station. Inigo and Morgan were almost joined by the hip, everyone walking so close to each other, the Main Central packed to the brim. Holding his two bags, and the personal items in a backpack, they finally walked out, into the streets. 

Waiting for them, was a taxi on the corner of the sidewalk. Inigo looked around as quickly as he could. It looked exactly as he thought it would. Dull and busy, he didn’t like it, and he didn’t believe he would warm up to it. Azura was definitely wrong. He could hear the conversations of the businessmen and the busy, hurried heels of businesswomen. Almost half of the adults wearing suit and ties, entering the Central through the automatic doors to enter their many trains. The street looked even busier, he had no idea how the cars drove by so quickly and easily, since the road looked pack. ‘I guess I’ll have to walk everywhere.’ he thought. 

He entered the taxi along with his family, and the ride was spent in silence. Robin too busy on the front seat, amusing the driver by going along with the conversation. Olivia was sitting on the corner, the seat behind the driver, looking out the window, not really bothering speaking up. Much less with a total stranger driving the car. According to herself, she would embarrass herself or draw too much attention to herself, which is something she definitely didn’t want. Morgan was scrolling away on her phone, her headphones on, blaring music rather loudly. 

The car ride was quick. Or at least that’s how it felt. Being ten hours on a train surely messed up how you viewed time for a period of time for sure. Looking out the window, he could see it was night, maybe close to 7:00 pm, he didn’t know. Even if it was nighttime, he wasn’t tired. The prospect of living an entire month came with an exhilarating and scary feel to it. It felt like an adventure. 

They reached what looked like a pretty rich condominium. Probably a few good stories tall, with big, tinted windows. The looming, overwhelming width of it was too much to bear. One room of those apartments could fit five of his rooms back in his house, he was sure of it. The walked to the entrance together, and walked over to the receptionist. 

“Hi, a friend told us that he rented one of the apartments under his name… It would be Owain Dark.” Robin told the receptionist as he took out a letter from his bag. Inigo didn’t see any more of the exchange because he turned to Morgan, confused. 

“Owain Dark? Since when is his last name, Dark?” he whispered, as low as he could. Interrupting his father’s conversation was not something he wanted to do. 

“He went to the trouble of legally changing his name to Owain Dark… like an alias, it’s the one he used to publish his first book, and then decided to legally change it. Maribelle still takes it personally.” Morgan whispered back, finally taking off one of her headphones to speak. Inigo bit his lip, how long had it been that he didn’t even knew that Owain had published a book. 

“He writes?” 

“He majored in creative writing in college, no one was surprised to be honest.” Morgan said, following Robin and Olivia, who were now walking over to the elevator. 

“Huh, never expected Brady to be the favorite child.” 

“What are you two talking about?” Olivia asked softly. The doors of the elevator closed, the four of them being the only ones there. 

“About Owain!” Morgan smiled. “Inigo didn’t know that Owain had published a book.” Inigo looked to the floor, blushing embarrassed. Morgan was looking at the humorous side of it, but Inigo was nervous. It had been so long since he and Owain spoke, what if he didn’t see him as a true friend anymore? The thought alone was scary. 

They entered the apartment and gasped. It was beautiful. High class and probably very expensive. They were supposed to live there for a month, yet they were being treated as if they were the most important tourists in the world. A hotel room could never compare to it. Even if it was flat, it still managed to look big and spacious. The living room was the first room you could see once one entered. The moderately high ceiling, the yellow light, the fancy, black leather couches and the tables that looked encrusted with a few purple gems just screamed ‘Nohr’ to Inigo. Maybe it was a condominium owned by the government. The hallway was on the right side, quite spacious with about five doors. 

“Oh yes, we got our own rooms! I won’t have to share a room with you!” Morgan said excitedly as she hopped on over down the hallway. “I call the master bedroom!” 

“Oh- Uh, okay darling!” called Olivia. 

“No! I- Olivia! Don’t give her what she wants.” said Robin as he followed Morgan down the hallway, entering what must be the master bedroom. 

Inigo looked at the hallway and then around the room. The kitchen was on the left side of the living room, close to the door that led to a huge balcony. Slowly making his way into the kitchen, Inigo set his backpack down on one of the couches and entered the kitchen. 

“I think we’ll need to buy food.” said Inigo as he opened the cabinets and the fridge. Biting his lip in thought, he sighed. “When will we do that, I’m kinda hungry.” 

“Hungry for a meal, or hungry for a snack?” asked Olivia, following him with a soft, motherly smile. “Because I think I have a few granola bars on my purse.” 

“Those will do just fine, mom!” Inigo smiled at her, a bright smile that was sure to make Olivia smile back. She didn’t. She could see Inigo wasn’t completely comfortable in this new apartment. Even if it was for just a month, Inigo didn’t look comfortable. 

“Inigo, I- I know you don’t like it, if it makes you feel better, we will be spending more time at the theater than the apartment… oh!” she said, suddenly remembering something, which made her smile. “You should go to sleep early! Owain will be waiting for us in the theater tomorrow morning, very early, maybe we could dance a little on the stage? I- I know how much you love dancing too, maybe it will lift your spirits!” 

Inigo walked over and hugged his mother. “Mom, stop trying to make this trip about me and my comfort! We’re here to see your dream finally come true! Don’t worry about me too much! I’ll go to sleep and wake up early tomorrow so we can leave, yeah?” 

“Yeah, go rest.” she said and kissed his cheek. Inigo walked over to the room he saw that was free, and not tainted by Morgan’s space greedy fingers, and set all he stuff down on the floor. He stripped down to his underwear and finally plopped on the bed. He had to admit, even if he didn’t like Nohr, the bed was the softest thing he had ever laid on. 

He reached for his phone, and decided to text Azura again. 

To: The Love of My Life (Azura)   
Guess who finally reached Nohr !!! , , , , , don’t like it. Too gloomy and dark . 

The Love of My Life (Azura)   
That’s Nohr for you. A place of pure business and economic development. 

To: The Love of My Life (Azura)   
The only thing developing here is my lung cancer :( 

The Love of My Life (Azura)   
Isn’t it late over there? Go to sleep.   
Also that joke wasn’t as funny as you want it to be. 

Inigo chuckled, sent a small ‘good night’ and set the phone down again with an alarm. Time to sleep. 

~

Waking up and getting dressed was quick development, after all, he had slept with his clothes on. He just changed his underwear and put the pants back on. What took time was wondering if it was practical to take dancing clothes. Was he even going to dance? Were they going there just to look at the theatre and then leave? He hoped not, he really wanted to try the stage. 

He grabbed his backpack and emptied it out. Deciding to fix and place his stuff later when he came back, and just shoved a comfortable shirt, some leggings, and his ballet slippers. As soon as he had everything, he walked out of his room and waited for his mom. 

The trip from the condominium to the theater was a short one. The theatre was in a nice side of the town, sure, it was still dark, but the theater was like a bright spot of gold in the middle. He loved it. It reminded him of the theatre back at home. 

“Well, here it is.” said Olivia, looking at it with adoration in her eyes. Inigo was happy for her. “Let’s go inside, I bet Owain is waiting for us.” 

“Oh, Owain… does- does he know I’m here? It’s been far too long since we’ve even talked, what if he doesn’t want me here?” asked Inigo nervously as they both approached the back door, Olivia taking out her keys and opening the locked door. Backstage was wonderful, spacious, about five rooms at the bottom, and a thick door that led to the stairs to go to the private part of the second floor. There was a bar, and a mirror on one corner. He could see the stage from one of the side curtains, where Owain was sitting down with his laptop, a bunch of chocolate milk cartons around him. 

“Hey look, there he is.” mumbled Olivia as she set her stuff down. “Go say hi! I have to go upstairs to change.” and with that, not letting Inigo say anything else, she walked through the door and up the stairs. Inigo just stood there not knowing what to do. It had been ten years since he had spoken to Owain. What would they even talk about. 

Inigo slowly made his way over to Owain, who had his back turned to him. He could see the usually spikey and messy-looking hair, at least that hadn’t changed. He had a coat on, which made sense since it was cold in the theater. Once he was behind him, he gently nudge his shoulder, his nerves spiking up to the roof when Owain turned around startled. 

“From what dark nook did you emerge from, you–“ Owain turned with way too much energy to be 7:00 am, but once he saw Inigo, his typical ‘ready-to-fight’ stance fell. The eyes grew wide, hands lowering themselves in shock. Inigo stood there, not knowing what to do. Did Owain even recognize him? Would they still act as friends? Should Inigo be more professional about all this? Inigo hoped for his internal conflict to not manifest physically, he didn’t want to seem nervous. But the longer the silent went on, the worse it was to his mind. 

“H-Hi, Owain, I’m,” 

“Inigo! Inigo, my dear, lost friend it has been far too many moons since I last saw you. Too many nights since our last adventure together!” happiness graced Owain’s expression, his hands excitedly going up again. “You have been lost, you kept me in the dark of your whereabouts.” 

“My whereabouts weren’t secret, I was- I was on tour, did you not know?” Inigo shifted his weight to one side, hugging his own waist as he tilted his head to look at Owain. Confused. 

“A decade long tour? That’s far too much time to be real.” 

“Oh, well, not the entire decade.” Inigo scratched the back of his neck. He looked around him, before looking back at Owain, who still expected an answer. “I moved to Nestra, I had been accepted into a dancing company, and well, I’ve been touring ever since. Made a few friends, met loads of ladies, the usual things that happen in a tour, you know?” gaining a bit of his confidence back, he winked when mentioning the ‘ladies’. If there was anything that was easy for him as dancing was, it was talking about cute girls. A thing he could do in a heartbeat. “What about you? Morgan said you wrote a book.” 

“Ah, the fair maiden Morgan.” he said, a small, sided smile now gracing his lips. “She is completely right, for I wrote a book that is just filled to the brim with tales of wondrous battles, dark spirits that travel through minds can only be presented in text.” Owain turned, reminiscing about his book and the time he spent writing it. Inigo smiled, Owain hadn’t changed, and he was glad about that. Why someone as bright and cheery as Owain would choose a place as dark as Nohr he had no idea. He would need to ask later. 

“Well, you certainly haven’t changed, have you?” Inigo smiled softly, Owain turned back to him. The soft pink of his cheeks barely noticeable on the soft lightning of the theater. “Anyway, I have to go change, mom said she’s going to practice a bit of dancing on the stage and,” 

“Ah but Lady Olivia is here too?” Owain interrupted Inigo with cheer. “Dare I ask, where is she?” 

“I’m right here!” Olivia ran and finally reached the stage, wearing a soft beige color of leotard and leggings, her worn pointe shoes already on her feet. “Sorry for making you wait.” her voice was as soft and shy as ever. A personality trait Inigo was sure wouldn’t leave Olivia anytime soon. It didn’t matter, he thought her amazing anyway. Aside from her typical ballet attire, she was wearing pink leg warmers and a fuzzy coat to warm her body up. 

“It’s no at all a complication I would let worry you, Olivia.” Owain smiles softly at her, his gestures getting a bit more gentle. “Besides, I had Inigo’s company, did I not?” 

“Oh yeah! It’s been so long since you two had seen each other!” Olivia looked at both of them with a smile. She took a few steps back. “What, like, ten years… right?” 

“Yeah, before I left for Nestra.” Inigo muttered, taking a few steps backwards. “I will go change, and I will also stretch on the bar I saw back there.” 

“I’ll be waiting for you.” Olivia said as Inigo turned and started walking backstage. Inigo held onto the strap of his duffel bag as tight as he could. He could hear the faint talking sounds of Owain and Olivia on the stage, but he couldn’t make out the conversation. Opening the many doors, he finally found a decent looking dressing room. Once inside, he locked the door and threw himself on the couch. Owain still thought of him as his friend! Happiness took over him, making him smile brightly. If he had come back and lost a friend, it would’ve been devastating. Thank the gods that it hadn’t been the case. 

He decided to strip and started getting dressed. Putting on the comfortable shirt, the leggings, and finally the ballet slippers. It didn’t take long for him to stretch. He had a pretty set routine on how he stretched, one that lasts about 15 minutes, but when he danced, he could feel free and not constricted by his own body. One he was done stretching, a few fast tendus and dégagés quickly shifted his mind to ‘Okay, I’m dancing now, focus’. A state of mind comforting to him, he knew what he was doing and he shouldn’t feel shy about it, at least that what Azura has said, and he trusted her. After being friends with her for about ten years, he could trust her when she talked about his dancing. 

He looked over at the stage, where Olivia was already practicing her variation of a classical piece. Since the opening wasn’t going to be an entire ballet show, the dancers were going to do variations of different pieces in classical ballets. Other dances, such as waltz, tango, contemporary, well, Olivia’s students had practiced almost all year to finally perform in the stage. 

His mother had told him earlier that day if he could do three variations of different ballets. One a pas de deux, and the other two a solo. He was going to practice them with his mother. So as soon as he walked over to the stage, Olivia quickly changed the music to practice. 

As soon as the music started, his body started moving at the steps that his mother had taught him. Most of the time, he just stopped to look at his mother. When she did her bourrée en couru she seemed to glide over the stage. His usually timid mother changed completely when she danced. Azura said he was the same, maybe he was way too much like his mother, but he would never be as great or as graceful as she was. 

Once she noticed how Inigo was doing nothing, she stopped to look at him blushing. “Inigo! Don’t stare…” she muttered embarrassed. “Why don’t you dance, I haven’t seen you dance in a while.” 

“Okay uhm, what would you–“ 

“Fouetté relevé, and make it clean.” she said, changing the music so Inigo could practice. Inigo chuckled softly. He could see his mom easily slipping into her ‘teaching’ mode, and she always seemed to take it hard on him. She wanted Inigo to do his best, and she wasn’t afraid the show ir. “Those bring back memories.” 

“Of when I twisted my ankle trying to keep my leg straight?” Inigo said as he got in position, doing the fouettés like they were second nature, like walking for him. 

“Oh, I remember that.” Olivia said as she covered her mouth softly. “Took you a long time to master them.” 

The entire day for them was spent dancing. He didn’t notice Owain staring with adoration and nostalgia in his eyes, or when he left the theatre, leaving him in the theatre alone with his mother.


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Owain’s daily life in Nohr, with a hint of “cant stop thinking about Inigo”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Glad to see people are liking the story! Reading the comments really made my day! Here’s Owain’s pov chapter! hope you guys like it. 
> 
> Kudos are appreciated! Comments even more! I read and reply to them all!

Owain walked out of the theatre with a faint feeling of nostalgia, happiness, and dread on his chest. His hands clammy as he grabbed the edges of his coat, hugging himself, trying to bring warmth to his body. Seeing Inigo again after an entire decade had completely disrupted his thoughts. A wave of memories of when they were young and would play together, when Inigo would gladly listen to his delusions of grandeur and he would watch Inigo try simple steps over and over again until he had them down to perfection just like his mother. 

It wasn’t a secret that when they were teenagers he had the biggest crush on Inigo. Severa had said he was in love, but the word scared him. He denied it every single time. Severa knew, Gerome knew, he was sure both Inigo’s parents knew. It appeared the only person who didn’t know was Inigo himself. He liked it that way. He wouldn’t have wanted to ruin his friendship because he confessed his feelings for his, clearly straight, friend. 

He walked down the streets of the city he knew well, his destination fleeing his mind, just walking. Headphones on, eyes to the ground. Uncharacteristic of him. He couldn’t get his thinking to calm down. He had expected, after ten years of not seeing Inigo, his feelings would’ve died down. That was clearly not the case. As soon as he saw the warm eyes and his usual, cheerful smile, he was once again that fifteen year old kid ready to leave everything behind if it made Inigo look at Owain the way he looked at him. 

Realizing that his thoughts and feelings had distracted him, he quickly snapped his head up and looked around to get a feeling of his surroundings. The bus station wasn’t far away. Looking at his wrist watch, he saw that the bus he wanted to catch arrived and left in 20 minutes. He was perfectly on time, but he still felt anxious. Not because of the time but, about his new predicament. Was Inigo going to stay the entire month with his family in Nohr? Once the theater opened, would he disappear for another ten years? . . . Where has he been in the first place? Owain has no clue, mainly because when he heard “Inigo left the country” he didn’t want to hear more. Now he regretted it. 

After the long walk, he finally reached the bus station, where the bus had just arrived. He quickly got on and sat on the front. His headphones still on, he took out his phone to do what he should’ve done a long time ago. Look up Inigo on social media. 

He didn’t find him on Facebook, but it instantly directed him to the official page of Cyrkensia, the most prestigious theater and dance company. Why, he had no clue, but he decided to dismiss it. 

He went on Instagram, and after typing his name ‘Inigo Grima’, he realized that Inigo did have an instagram, and had around 12 million followers. Owain felt his mouth fall agape and the sight of that. He read the bio and it all made sense. 

‘Inigo Grima, how’s it going ladies?  
Ballerino of Cyrkensia Royal Ballet’ 

There was also his P.O. Box but that wasn’t important. What he realized is that his pictures mainly focused on places and theaters around the world and videos of him practicing his dance. They also featured a blue haired woman, around Inigo’s age, who seemed to be very close with him. He couldn’t help the small bit of jealousy that surged in his chest. Maybe Inigo’s relentless flirting finally worked and got himself a girlfriend. Maybe a wife, anything could happen in the span of ten years. Besides, it’s not like Owain had a chance in the first place. He clicked on one video, where the thumbnail was him raising the blue haired lady up in what seemed to be a very complicated ballet move. 

The video started with the blue haired lady dancing softly to music, when them Inigo entered the picture, wearing his practice clothes, so he must’ve been practicing with her. It looked like a very dramatic ballet, and of course, the focus of the piece was on the woman, but Owain couldn’t take his eyes off of Inigo. 

He left instagram and quickly went over to google. Simply writing “Inigo” quickly brought up his last name, which made his fame as a ballet dancer even more sketchy. Just how recognized was Inigo in the ballet community? 

Once the page loaded, he quickly got him a Wikipedia page. He decided to open it. 

Inigo Grima is an Ylessian ballet dancer who performs as a principal dancer for Cyrkensia Royal Ballet (formerly the Nestra Ballet).  
Inigo was trained at the Ylessian Academy of Classical Dance. While at the Ylessian school, he scored the highest scores known to the school's history. During his last year at the Academy he also trained at the Ylessian Theatre. Inigo joined the Nestra Ballet Company upon his graduation. Two prizes at the start of his career at the Nestra–the Benois de la Danse and the Golden Sofit helped Inigo rise up the ranks swiftly. 

Owain was sure that what he was reading couldn’t be true. A world renowned dancer? Last time he saw Inigo those ten years ago he could barely do a presentation in front of the class. He would’ve continued reading Inigo’s apparent biography on Wikipedia, but the alert of a text message quickly took him to a chat he did not want to open, he audibly groaned. 

The one who lurks in the shadows!  
hey dumbass you coming or not ? me n leo have been here for like 10 minutes already 

To: The one who lurks in the shadows!  
ah! my umbral friend! fear not and fail in missing me for i am merely a few minutes away from the designated destination  
i’m on the bus 

The one who lurks in the shadows!  
we ordered for u, hope u like chicken tenders bc i know leo sure doesn’t so we gave them to u 

To: The one who lurks in the shadows!  
Leo ordered chicken tenders? 

The one who lurks in the shadows!  
He ordered a steak actually but i changed it to chicken tenders while he wasn’t paying attention ,,, so ur eating them 

Owain decided to turn off his phone, listening to music only, and proceeded to wait till the bus reached his destination. It wasn’t that far away, since they had picked a nice restaurant that wasn’t fancy but they served quality food. It was to please both Leo and Niles, so they could wear whatever they wanted, and Leo could eat good, non-processed food, like the rich boy he was. So as soon as the bus stopped in the middle of the plaza, he quickly got off and trotted over to the restaurant. 

It was close to being midday, so the plaza wasn’t as busy as it always got during the official lunchtime of almost every single job in the city, but it wasn’t empty either. Making a few quick turns out of muscle memory, he found the restaurant and entered. Once inside, a mere “two of my friends are waiting for me” led him to the table we’re both Leo and Niles were. Leo was eating a steak, with a salad, and another thing Owain didn’t really know what was. While Niles was eating spicy wings. 

Owain sat down without announcing himself, which Niles and Leo quickly noticed. It was odd of Owain to do anything without it being announced in some sort of grand speech of his hidden power. 

“What’s got your panties in a twist?” Niles asked, setting his half eaten chicken wing down to look at Owain. “You look like you accidentally kicked a puppy and ‘now your soul will never be clean again’, or some sort of grandiose bullshit.” 

“You could have worded that better, Niles.” said Leo as he looked at him with narrowed eyes, and back at Owain. “But he does have a point.” 

“‘Tis nothing that should worry those close as kin like you are, I have just stumbled upon an old acquaintance of mine that did nothing but made my mind flood with nostalgia and memories I had for forgotten.” Owain waved his hand dismissively, while his other hand quickly reached for the plate with chicken tenders on them and took one without hesitation. “Well, an old friend. A very close friend from the days of my youth.” 

“Oh.” was all Leo said before going back to his food. “Memories strong enough to make you lose your mannerisms?” 

“Yeah, whoever this person is has your mind made a shit dump, you look significantly less, you know, Owainish.” Niles said, his lips raising into a smirk. “Did something… interesting happen with this old acquaintance? Maybe something you’re hiding from us?” 

“Nothing of the sort! I just, well I,” Owain could slowly feel his façade fall, not in the energy to think of dialogues that came naturally to him. “I hadn’t seen him in like ten years, and he was such a good friend to me.” 

“Oh, then, how come you saw him again?” Leo asked, setting his fork and knife down on his plate. “After all these years, some looking around must’ve had to happen.” 

“Oh, that’s where you are very wrong, my dear friend. His mother is the owner of the theater that I’m about to open with, and by chance or fate, I encountered him there.” said Owain, peeking up at the mention of the theater. He had dreamed of his the plays he’s been writing to be performed on a beautiful theatre, pa led to the brim with everyone enjoying every single line of dialogue completely written by him. When Olivia has approached him about making it together, he didn’t even stop and think before completely diving into the planning and all the work. 

He hadn’t asked Leo for money at all, even though the former had offered to serve as a sponsor many, many times. ‘The least I could do for a friend as close as you’, but Owain had refused. He wanted this to be completely his to be proud of. He and Olivia managed to fund the construction and paperwork completely. 

At the mention of the theater, Leo actually worked up. A smile, though barely noticeable, appeared. “How is the project going? When will I be able to finally invite my family to the grand opening you keep mentioning, since you basically forced me to keep this a secret for four years.” 

“You will have to wait no longer! In exactly one week the Azure Theater will open its grand doors to the expecting public. Dancers from the prestigious school of dance of Ylisse have flown to perform that night.” said Owain, finally returning to his usual, colorful self. Niles smiled. 

The rest of their lunch was spent talking. They had been friends for good eight years. Meeting in college, even though dramatically different majors, they still became friends. And now, in their young, mid-twenties, they still took time out of their jobs to eat lunch together or go to each other’s houses often. It almost always ended up being Leo’s family house, since it was the biggest, and they also loved spending time with his siblings. 

The De’Nohr Manor, also known to the old Nohrians as Krakenburg, was almost as big as a castle, with rooms to spare and ballrooms that were almost never used unless for a prestigious party, but were always kept clean. As big as it was, it was also very empty. Only the four De’Nohr siblings, and around five of the staff lived there. That’s why they always invited the few friends they have whenever they could. To fill the space, so it didn’t seem so big and intimidating. 

The only sibling that had left was the middle sister, Corrin. If their relationship with their father wasn’t the best, then with Corrin was the worst. She had been adopted, and when it finally came to light, Garon hadn’t bothered making her feel like she belonged anymore. It wasn’t like he did that in the first place, but it had somehow gotten worse. As soon as she married her long time boyfriend, Kaze, she decided to leave. It really didn’t make it more bearable for Garon, since Kaze was Hoshidan, and Garon had a not-so-hidden distaste of them. 

He was rarely in that house anyway. None of them knew where he spent his nights, and they frankly didn’t care. It made being in their house less nerve racking, and they all liked it that way. Xander, even though he was most of the time at the house, was most of the time couped up in his office, doing the work his father gave to him, which was often a lot. Camilla was there mostly on the afternoons, since she worked during the day as on her luxury fashion company, but was often at home during the afternoons to spend time with Leo and Elise. Leo worked as the Partner of a rather important law firm in Nohr, which was an achievement at such a young age. And Elise has two years left in her high school, the youngest of the four, just seventeen years old. 

Once the three of them finished their lunch, they paid each for their plate, and walked out, getting on Leo’s car to finally go to his house. They had both been invited to dinner, like they normally were. Out of the seven days of the week, they were invited to four of them minimum. They spent a lot of time there, that’s why Niles and Owain barely minded living as roommates in a nice apartment, close to the De’Nohr Manor. 

The three of them sat on Leo’s car, Niles on the passenger's seat and Owain sat at the back. It was a silent ride, mainly because Owain, instead of speaking like he normally did, had his phone in his hands. 

Niles looked back at Owain and groaned. “You’re too damn quiet.” Owain looked up and furrowed his eyebrows. “It’s stupid, I normally tell you to shut up but,” he paused for a short second. “it’s way too quiet.” 

Owain turned his phone off, a smile on his lips. “Had I known of your desire towards the prophetic words of Owain Dark, I wouldn’t have sat in silence.” 

“How the hell if your vocabulary to extensive.” muttered Leo under his breath, but he kept driving towards his house. Sure, his friends weren’t something that people expected someone like him to have, but they were his real friends nevertheless. 

Owain was never going to divulge the fact that his vocabulary was extensive because he played too much D&D with his brother Brady. He was never into it, so Owain thought that he needed to make up in enthusiasm for what his brother lacked. He even read two Shakespeare books, and even though they were hard to read, he managed to understand it and tried to copy their words. After a few tries, Owain realized that other 9th graders did not understand him at all and classified him as the weird. Well, the theater kids never did. 

When he reached college, he instantly joined the theatre club, but he couldn’t make any real friends there. When he saw a boy reading a Shakespeare book, he couldn’t do anything else but approach him (being mindful of not coming off as overwhelming, something he never did). That guy ended up being Leo, who was instantly attracted to Owain in a friendly manner. Owain hadn’t know who Leo was when he saw him, since he wasn’t exactly from Nohr. 

“It’s the D&D playing.” Niles had said after a while, regarding to Leo’s comment. 

“I played D&D,” 

“Nerd.” Niles interrupted him. 

“Shut up.” muttered Leo, blushing embarrassed. “What I mean is, I played D&D and still don’t talk like I’m directly from a Shakespeare play.” 

“I may not behold, but I spent hours of dawn and dusk, a gross amount of research so I could beest able to convey mine speech the best way I could. Darkness needs but be expressed in a wrong manner.” 

Finally reaching the gigantic house, the passed the gates, and Leo drove over to the garage, parking the car next to the other cars. They all got off without a word, and entered the house, that was eerily silent. Silence wasn’t a rarity, not with a house that’s way too big for four people. Even then, some chatter could always be heard, thanks to the chirpy personality of Elise. 

Leo wasn’t one to be loud and announce that he arrived, so he didn’t, yet, Camilla always knew he arrived somehow. She was always there to greet him how she always did ever since Corrin left. Leo set his coat in the hanger and walked upstairs, from the garage to the main hallway. Niles and Owain close behind. 

Once the door to the main hallway was opened, all the lights were dimmed and faint talking could be heard from the private living room. “Ah, they’re there.” Owain heard Leo mutter before going towards the door. 

Inside was everyone except Xander and Peri, meaning that they must be in Xander’s office talking. Or maybe Xander was working and Peri was bothering him like friends do, or in Peri’s case, talking a lot while Xander pulled at his hair because of even more work being piled into his desk. 

Camilla, Beruka, and Severa sat in one couch, the three of them side by side. While Beruka sat in her own corner, avoiding physical contact, she still leaned a little into Camilla. Severa on the other hand, was laying with her feet on Camilla’s lap while her head rested almost hanging from the couch, her everloving frown always on her face. Elise sat on the floor cross legged next to her friend Effie, from school. The five of them were watching some movie in the television, that Camilla instantly paused once Leo entered, making everyone groan. 

“Leo, oh dear brother, you’re finally back!” Camilla stood up, pushing Severa’s legs to the side. She quickly hugged Leo before he could move away from her reach, and hugged him tightly. 

“Ca-Camilla, you don’t need to smother me, I was barely out for three hours.” he said, trying to get away from the hug. Futile efforts, of course. “And I went out to get lunch!” 

“Instead of having lunch with your loving family? You missed a lot of family bonding time between all of us, right Elise?” Camilla finally let go of Leo, hands moving up to cup his cheeks. 

“Yeah! We sure missed you!” Elise said, but she was using her phone, not even looking at Leo. When she finally looked up though, she was sporting a bright smile. “But now that you’re here, we can have an early dinner!” 

“I’m not sure that’s how it works, Elise.” said Leo as he pushed Camilla’s hands away, making her pout. Leo walked over to the free couch and sat on the far right corner of it, Niles following but sitting on the far left of it. “I ate like, 30 minutes ago, I’m not even close to hungry.” 

“Owain! I didn’t see you there!” Elise stood up almost instantly and quickly ran to hug Owain. Leo scoffed, she didn’t run to hug him like that! It wasn’t like Leo liked hugs, but the sentiment and the intention were there. “You’ve been gone even more than Leo!” 

“My most sincere apologies, Lady Elise!” Owain said, placing his hand on his chest. The pure, raw emotion that emanated from his every word always has everyone looking at him. He wasn’t ashamed. “I can not believe that such mundane duties had me away from my one true purpose! Making sure you’re happy, milady! Alas, you can make sure that it will not happen again, for I’ve been working on a project that is sure to shake the Earth, the sheer magnificence of even naming it for the first time, by the gods won’t it be wonderful! For many years, my one thought has been of building a structure worthy of presenting pure, raw art! I have,” 

“Cut the theatrics, Owain.” Leo said, rubbing his eyebrows as his eyes closed in frustration. 

“R-Right, er- The most magnificent work of art, Azure Theater of the Bright Heavens!” he said, voice raising for emotion. “Or, for short, Azure Theatre.” 

“A theater? What for?” Severa spoke up, finally moving and sitting correctly. “It’s not like you’re a dancer or something.” 

“Ah! But isn’t acting considered an art? Telling tales of heroes of yonder, travelers of time itself, delivered and expressed to the simple words of playwrights… That is what I’ve been dedicating every dark second of my past years… Achieving grandeur through the arts. Arts that will touch people’s hearts!” Owain walked to the center of the living room, everyone looking at him now with expectant eyes. It wasn’t strange for Owain to be making a huge scene. This time, he was actually saying something of importance, so everyone listened. “Hark! I’ve been not alone through this arduous journey! I’ve been graciously helped by a kind soul who did not only shared the same dream, but have every penny in her person so she could also achieve such great heights.” 

“Aw, Leo,” Camilla interrupted. “You helped him with funding? That’s adorable.” 

“He clearly said a she!” Leo said, back straightening in offense. 

“With that headband, anyone could be confused, darling.” Niles winked as his face got seductively closer to Leo’s. 

“Anyway, Owain didn’t even let me give him one penny, even though I offered to sponsor the project and handle the legal matters of it for free.” 

“Owain’s speaking! Let him finish!” Elise muttered, annoyed. She looked really interested in what he was saying, which wasn’t a first. If there was anyone in the world who could hear Owain for hours on end and not get bored or annoyed, was Elise herself. 

“My thanks, Lady Elise!” Owain cleared his throat. “This kind soul is no one else but someone from the days of my youth. A woman who is a gift from the heavens and whose generosity knows no bounds. Olivia Grima is her name, the best dancer to ever grace this dark soil.” 

“Olivia’s here? Since when!?” Severa spoke up, her eyes growing in surprise, mouth hanging agape. Everyone was now looking between Owain and Severa. 

“Who’s Olivia?” Elise asked, breaking the short silence that had formed. 

“The mother of an old friend of ours, no one else.” 

“You mustn’t water down Olivia to only his mother but also a very skilled dancer who deserves to be recognized by her talent and prowess on the stage.” said Owain. 

“Mmh, you seem fond of this Olivia.” Niles interjected with a smirk, clearly a double meaning behind his words. Both Owain and Severa cringed. 

“That’s disgusting, you perverted fucker, she’s like 40 something.” said Severa, looking at Niles like he was sick for even suggesting something between Owain and Olivia. 

“And? Owain’s 24! It’s not like he’s a minor… Is this Olivia woman hot?” 

“W-Well,” Owain said, blushing embarrassed. His thoughts weren’t on Olivia, but on Inigo. If he called Olivia hot, would he think him a weirdo. “She’s not, she’s not ugly, she’s pretty for a woman her age.” there was a short pause before Owain spoke again. “But-!” 

“Then I don’t see anything wrong with it! After all, older women are just experienced and beautiful, are they not.” 

“That’s disgusting, Niles.” muttered Severa. “Olivia’s like a mom to Owain, she basically raised him! Do you know how much time he spent at his house when he was a boy? Sure, he always spent time with,” 

“That is enough, Severa, no need to tell them what my teenage years were like, not when we’re talking about something entirely different here.” Owain was now beet red, his face wasn’t even hiding the shame and embarrassment he felt. 

“And this theater of yours, Owain, is it going to open anytime soon?” Camilla spike up after a while, her arms crossed against her chest as she gracefully rested her back against the wall. 

“Yes! Yes! The day will mark the beginning of a new era of performing arts in this wondrous capital of Nohr. The 13th of April!” 

“That’s exactly one week from now!” Elise said, excitedly walking over to Owain. “Is there going to be a grand opening? A wonderful show?” 

“Aye! M’lady, the most skilled dancers from Regna Ferox, Plegia, and Ylisse have flown in, coming from the prestigious dance academy in Ylisse. They’ve been practicing day and night to grant our eyes dancing worthy of kings and queens to behold… Hark! Even the world renowned dancer from the Cyrkensia Royal Ballet will be dancing for us! A dancer whose performances are nothing short of wondrous and magnificent!” 

“Who? Who?!” Elise was now smiling excitedly. She had never been able to take ballet or any type of dancing. Most of her childhood had been inside the house learning violin and how to act proper during parties. 

“Oh uh, his name is Inigo Grima.” said Owain, now avoiding all eye contact with Severa. Severa was the first person who knew about Owain’s crush on Inigo. She had been the first person to even suggest to him that he was in love; an accusation that he had quickly denied and shot down. If there was anyone who knew just how strongly he cared for Inigo, it was her. 

“Oh I’ve heard of him.” Camilla chimes in, a tone of surprise in her voice. “Isn’t he the one that gets paid 50,000 for each individual performance? I’ve never seen his dancing, but I remember a girl that works in one of our main stores mention how he was probably the most stuck up dancer she had ever heard of.” 

“Lies!” said Owain, standing in the most dramatic pose he had ever mustered. “I’ve met this Inigo, the kindness and honesty of his heart can only be matched by his talent in the stage!” 

“And his skirt chasing. Don’t forget about the skirt chasing, Owain.” said Severa, but Owain still avoided her gaze. “What everyone close this him at home knows him for, is his never ending skirt chasing.” 

“Well it’s not like he succeeds at the either.” Owain shrugged, dropping the act for a split second. “Be it! I expect to see each and every one of you at the opening night, for it will be grandiose!” 

“We will all be there, anyway, Owain and I have to leave.” Severa stood up and walked over to Owain as fast as she could. Her red hair feel from her shoulder, her face depicted anger, for some unknown reason to Owain. Before anyone could protest, she was already dragging Inigo outside the door, through the hallway and up the stairs that led to the third floor. 

“Unhand me.” said Owain many times, in vain. She did not let go of his arm, and didn’t seemed like she was going to do so anytime soon. Not until they found some private place to speak. 

Owain didn’t know why she was angry. She was always angry and rude, but never towards Owain, so this attitude was uncalled for. At least for Owain. Maybe it has been the mention of Inigo what made her angry, but she was friends with him, in her own twisted way of friendship. Maybe it was something to do with Owain and Inigo, maybe the way Owain has spoken of Inigo was a problem for her. After all, she was always annoyed at Owain for not coming clean about his feeling towards Inigo. He couldn’t be blamed. Confessing to him would’ve been a huge mistake, like Severa has said a few minutes ago ‘don’t forget the skirt chasing’. 

Severa finally found an empty room, so once she pushed Owain inside, she closed the door and turned to him. Arms crossed, scowl on her face, and the constant tapping of her food on the hardwood floor. “So, Inigo’s back? And you still have it bad? Do you not learn from your mistakes or are you always going to be at his beck and call?”

“Me? What makes you think that my mind still has eyes set for Inigo. Alas, a decade has come, brought many,” 

“Oh fuck off, Owain, you can’t lie to me Owain, last time Inigo left you cried for an entire month! Who’s to say he won’t leave again? What are you going to do? Cry?” 

“Why are you even angry? It makes no sense, it is- it was just a stupid crush. You take it as if it’s a personal offense to you, Severa!” Owain crosses his arms and looked away, like a child. Severa said nothing, but her demeanor changed. Her hands now rested at her sides, her shoulders no longer tense. 

The silence was unbearable that. Silent. It was unnerving 

“What I’m saying is, well, I,” 

“You got angry at the mere mention of Inigo. It’s like you hate him.” Owain looked at the Severa, the roles changing for a split second and now Owain was the one scolding Severa. 

“He left, didn’t he? I’m surprised you’re not at least a bit bitter!” Severa said, narrowing her eyes. “If Inigo told you to lick the ground he stepped on you would’ve done it!” 

“I was fourteen! I’m no longer a teenager, Severa, and I can take good care of myself.” said Owain. “He has a girlfriend anyway, I think.” Owain crosses his arms. “Severa, I appreciate what you’re doing here, but I think, and this is just my honest thoughts on the matter, your anger is towards Inigo. Not towards what Inigo did to me exclusively… which is nothing.” 

Severa said nothing. Owain placed his hand on her shoulder, she quickly shrugged it away, making Owain smile. “Don’t touch me, asshole. You don’t even know if I hate him or not. Maybe I just can’t stand his skirt chasing and that’s that.” 

“Ah! And I believe thy words, fair maiden Severa!” said Owain, slipping back again to his usual way of speaking. “For I do not doubt that bad attitudes of our dear old friend, Inigo of the Azure Skies is very much an, ahem, lady lover.” 

Severa’s crown disappeared for a split second, shifting into a smile. Owain smiled. What Severa had said had actually gotten to him. When Inigo left, he was pretty hurt. He never expected Inigo to leave the entire country without even saying goodbye. To a fourteen year old with a killer crush on the boy, that had been devastating. He remembered going over to his mom, Lissa, and repeating over and over that Inigo had found and decided to leave because he was disgusted. It took the entirety of two weeks to convince Owain that Inigo hadn’t found out, that he left to another school. He was never told which school it was, now he realized it was a dancing one. In Nestra, nevertheless, the birthplace of the performing arts. He had became the most prestigious dancer in the world, with a beautiful girlfriend, a stable job, beauty beyond words, and bearer of eyes that shone brighter than the horizon of the galaxies. Maybe those last two were Owain’s personal opinions, but he wouldn’t say anything. 

Owain has never stopped to actually think how Severa had felt when Inigo left. After all, Inigo and Severa were friends too. Not in the same level of closeness as he was with him, but she still had her own way of being close to Inigo. Unlike Owain, she hadn’t felt sad when Inigo left. She was hurt in a way that had her lash out at people. 

Owain sighed, and walked through the door. Instead of going back to the living room, he decided to leave the house, shooting Leo a text that simply said ‘Going to my apartment’. He had a lot of thinking and planning to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what you thought!!  
> If you would like to send me a message, i’m badgamergal on tumblr and instagram !  
> see you guys next chapter 
> 
> kudos are appreciated! comments even more!


	4. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Xander is invited to the opening of the theater, and finds out that the male dancer is probably the most beautiful man he has ever laid eyes upon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And finally, Xander’s point of view in all of this! Next chapter is back to Inigo, obviously, and that’s how it’s going to keep going.   
> Thank you so much to everyone who commented on the last 3 chapters! i read and reply to all of them and they always make me smile! so glad you’re enjoying the fic so far!

Seeing his desk full of documents, papers, corporate letters, and economical stocks charts wasn’t a rare sight for Xander. In fact, if his desk wasn’t full, he would think that there’s something completely wrong with the order of the universe. As CFO of the company, he had pretty high responsibilities, given the fact that he was supposed to inherit the entire company once his father passed or retired. Working as hard as he could possibly can was a must, even though he wished it didn’t have to be that way. Elise always tries to get him to have fun or hang out, and as much as he wanted to, Xander never had time to leave his office. 

Reading the last letters sent from the Against Climate and Air Pollution Organization (ACAPO) was too stressing. Knowing that his father was ruining natural resources and there was nothing he could do was frustrating. Every time he tried to bring up the topic with his father, Garon would always say the same thing. “Stop believing the articles and the theorists. How can global warming be happening, the temperatures haven’t raised at all, it’s always cold!”. Basically, a dead end. He would have to wait until his father passed to actually do something meaningful in the company. It was a matter of time. 

Thankfully, his current job allowed him to work on matters from home. Only needing to go to the actual building for briefings, meetings, and economical record keeping with the other employees in his department. Meaning that Peri, his assistant and close friend, was always with him in his office. 

“It’s not like I don’t respect your position, but- but what was he expecting? I’ve known you since we were tiny and out of the sudden I’m supposed to treat you of sir because my job is to help you with your papers?” Peri had been complaining of some comments done to her when she had gone to the building to deliver an USB drive to Iago. That’s when one of the workers talked to her and said that she was a bad assistant. 

She was close to tears when she arrived at Xander’s house, but they quickly shifted to anger and petty resentment. 

“You’re a good assistant, Peri.” said Xander for what probably was the tenth time the pst minute. As the eyeliner ran down her face, cause of the few tears that she shed, Peri stood and crossed her arms. “It’s good to at least have a friend at the job, I can’t stand most of the people there.” 

“True. Iago sucks, he’s probably the slimiest person I’ve ever met. I’d love to kill him, but that’s illegal, so I can.” she pouted. Walking over to the comfortable couch at the corner of the room, she took out her own laptop and decided to stay quiet. A first, for her. 

Xander let out a tired sigh, his hands dropping the paper back into the desk and rubbing his eyes, exhausted. Trying to relax himself, he took his reading glasses off, and rested his back against the chair. 

Sometimes he wished he could’ve done like Leo and Camilla did. Open his own business. When Camilla has said that she didn’t want a position in the company, Garon had been angry. He even dared to say that Camilla was not proud of her family or the legacy that they had been building for many years. It took him long enough to stop being angry at Camilla, but she had to convince him that she just wanted everyone that the De’Nohrs could do anything and be the best at it. Leo became a lawyer. At the young age of twenty-four, he was already a partner on his own law firm, but that’s what happens when one graduates high school at fifteen. 

Taking the position of CFO wasn’t that big a decision, after all, it wasn’t like he had a choice at all. He remembered his father approaching him with stern eyes and hands folded behind his back. Towering over him, he said that his new position was CFO, didn’t even ask Xander. What would’ve happened if he said no? 

As he pondered the what if’s, there was a soft knock on the door. He recognized the knocks of all his siblings. Camilla’s was soft, yet it never ended until Xander said she could enter. Elise’s was full of childlike wonder, even if she was seventeen, she never changed the way she acted around her siblings; excited and ready for adventure. Leo’s, on the other hand, were soft, as if he was scared he was interrupting something important, and they were only three. He still had the habit knocking like a scared teen, Xander found it charming. 

“Come in, Leo.” Xander said, fixing his hair, not to appear disheveled. 

The door opened, revealing the Leo, wearing comfortable clothes for a change. Xander realized Leo wasn’t working today and actually went out with friends. When had it been the last time he had done that? “How did you know it was me?” 

“Your knocking has never changed, it’s been the same your entire life.” Xander said, the smallest of smiles on his lips, almost a sad one. “What brings you here?” 

“Yeah, you look nervous.” Peri stood up and walked over to Leo, almost poking his cheek as if he were an adorable child. 

“Don’t touch me, Peri.” Leo pushed Peri’s hands away and glared at her. Peri giggled. 

“Oh, but you have such soft skin-“

“Peri, please,” Xander said, looking at Peri with exasperated eyes. Peri just smiled and left the two to their privacy. Once they were alone, Leo sighed relieved. He didn’t hate Peri, but Xander could notice she made everyone feel uncomfortable and nervous. She wasn’t a psychopathic killer, at least not that Xander knew anything of her urges, maybe she was. 

Leo walked over to Xander’s desk, and sat down in one of the chairs that faced Xander. “Are you busy?” 

“Just a little, I’m done with the important documents anyway.” Xander said, it was a lie. “You came here to tell me something?” 

Leo could sense that Xander was lying, maybe Xander was a good liar, but Leo was his brother. Leo decided to dismiss the thought, it would serve nothing bringing that up. “Well, Owain has been working on a huge project, or maybe a partnership, I’m not sure, anyway, he has been working on this for the past four years. It’s a theatre at the outskirts of town.” 

“A theatre?” Xander leaned forward, resting his arms on the desk, and his chin on his hands. “Dare I ask, why?” 

“His passion is writing. Maybe he wanted to present some of his plays in the theatre.” Leo decided to lean more comfortably on the chair, resting his intertwined hands on his lap. “He has not been doing this alone, a dancer from Ylisse helped him.” Leo looked away, he started muttering things like ‘maybe he helped her, he never told me’, quickly snapping back to reality, he looked at Xander again. “Details of who helped who are not important. The grand opening will be in a week, we’re invited.” 

“Is it a formal event?” 

“Yes, it is. Surprising, since Owain’s version of formal is victorian warrior wear.” Leo said, a fond smile forming on his lips, reminiscing softly of his friend. “Will you be attending?” the expression on Leo’s face changed almost drastically. From a fond smile, to his usual stoic expression that he always used to show that he was just as tough as his brother. One thing that will never change; Xander smiled. 

“Of course.” Xander said almost instantly, not checking his calendar like he normally would. “It’s been a long time since we went out of the house together, and Elise would hold my absence against me if I did not come.” 

“That she would.” Leo started walking towards the door, before he left, he turned to Xander, as if he was going to say something else. Xander looked at him, clearly waiting for Leo to say anything, but he didn’t. Leo’s hand just slid faintly down the door, taking back his decision to keep talking. He shook his head, softly, so that no one could see he was lost in thought, and left without saying anything else. 

Xander could feel that Leo didn’t see him as a brother but as a the eldest sibling, and heir to their father’s company. Sure, what he thought may sound stupid, but Xander saw a difference. He felt that a brother should be always with their brothers and sisters, spending time together as a family would. A simple older sibling was just that, an older sibling, a man who just happened to be blood related. Maybe he was wrong, and Leo had grown from his ambitious phase, where he did everything to be like Xander. Maybe that’s what Xander missed, the adoration in Leo’s young eyes. But that was years ago and Leo was now a young adult, even if he did not look the part. 

Xander spent the rest of the afternoon alone. Finishing some stupid papers and files he needed to do. Finally clicking send on that long e-mail was the most liberating thing he had done all week. Was this what the rest of his life was going to be? A stupid desk job as CEO of a company he didn’t even earn, just inherited? Xander shook his head, it wasn’t good to think of that, it always lead to nowhere. 

He checked the clock on the wall, 8:00 pm, dinner was soon. Maybe this time he would finally be able to join them in their family dinner instead of excusing himself and eating dinner alone in his office. He stood up, taking his glasses off and laying them on the table, he wouldn’t have to read anything else for the rest of the night, what a big relief. 

Walking out of the office, he could hear chatter downstairs. The dinner table was probably full, since his siblings always liked to invite every single one of their close friends to eat. Being nervous of going to his own dinner table to eat with his family shouldn’t have been normal, after all, they’re his family. Was it normal that he felt this way? Probably, after all, he wasn’t the most present during dinners. 

As soon as he entered the room, he stayed silent, no one noticing him walk through the door. The first person to catch sight of him was Elise. 

“Big brother!!” Elise hopped off her seat in a heartbeat, almost running to hug Xander. Wrapping her arms around him, Xander smiled sheepishly. “Are you having dinner with us?” 

“I, uh- Yeah.” he said, looking at her with a small smile. “I finished work early today,” raising his head, he decided to now look at Camilla, who was giving him a fond smile. “And it’s been long since I have eaten at the dinner table.” 

“Way too long!” said Elise, pulling away from the hug, her hand going to grip Xander’s as she started dragging him. “Sit next to me!” 

Xander sat on the chair next to Elise. Elise at his left, while Leo sat at his right. It was an almost oval looking table. Next to Leo sat Owain, who looked in the middle of a grand speech of his, since Niles, Severa, and Leo were looking at him, expecting him to continue. Apparently Xander has interrupted him with his entrance. Owain didn’t seem to mind, once Flora placed a plate of food in front of Xander, he continued to speak. 

Xander wasn’t paying much attention to what Owain was speaking about, more concentrated in Elise, who was using her phone from time to time, texting with someone. Probably Effie or Arthur, her friends at school. Her only friends at school. 

It wasn’t when Owain said something that caught Elise’s attention, Xander finally paid an ear to what Owain spoke. 

“I always wanted to learn ballet!” Elise said, her eyes shining with excitement. Camilla laughed. “I love ballet so much, they way the ballerinas can just stand on their toes like it’s so easy! I once tried to do that and fell on the floor, making my nose bleed.” 

“Oh, I remember that. You woke me up that night, who told you to practice pointe at 2:00 am?” Leo said, looking at her through narrowed eyes. Elise gasped. 

“The hour’s not important, Leo!” 

“It is to me! I appreciate my night’s sleep.” 

“Elise!” Camilla interrupted. “You can’t stay awake up until 2:00 am, it’s not healthy for a growing girl like you. Tell her, Xander.” 

“Camilla has a point.” was all Xander said, quickly reaching for a glass of whatever was in front of him and drinking it. He wasn’t going to get in the middle of Camilla scolding Elise.

“Can we go back to the main point?” Elise muttered, her arms crossing across her chest as she looked to the side and let a little pout come out. “Owain’s new theater is also apparently a dance school and I want in? Can I still go, Owain?” 

“Who am I to deny you, Lady Elise, of pursuing your one true calling! The one of dance!” Owain said. His eyes looking at the ceiling as if he was staring at the starry night sky. The one Nohr didn’t have. 

“Do they know how to teach, Owain?” Leo asked, looking at Owain spectantly. “Don’t answer that, I don’t trust your judgement.” 

“Oh I– Hey!” Owain dropped the act for a mere second, looking offended. “That’s not nice.” he whispered as he fixed the collar of his shirt, quickly snapping back to character. “Why must you doubt my knowledge in the arts, Leo?” he closed his eyes, a pained expression. 

“I was teasing you, Owain.” 

“Oh Leo,” said Niles, finally breaking his uncharacteristic silence. “You never tease, look at poor Owain, his heart has been broken.” Niles caressed Owain’s cheek. Owain pushed Niles’s hand away. 

Xander leaned over to whisper into Elise’s ear. “Is it always like this with these three?” 

“Sometimes it’s worse.” Elise whispered back. “I’m sure if it weren’t for Leo, and how entertaining Owain is, Camilla would’ve thrown both of them out by now.” the small giggle Elise let out was enough to make Xander smile. 

The rest of dinner was spent completely uneventful. Or, well, uneventful by their standards. Owain wouldn’t stop talking and Niles wouldn’t stop being weird; all with Leo right in the middle of their verbal, and sometimes physical, fights. No one got hurt, except maybe, Leo’s pride. Camilla stopped paying attention to both of them, and focused on Beruka, who was silent as silent can be, and Severa. Severa was either cussing both Niles and Owain out, or talking with Camilla. 

Xander spent dinner with Elise, who wouldn’t let Xander drift his attention from anything that wasn’t her. As he ate, he listened to everything Elise had to say. She told him about how school was going, after all, she was finishing her year at high school. One more year to go and she would be off to college. Xander had to spent the most time possible with her. 

~ 

The week flew by. Nothing eventful had happened at all, except Elise’s constant reminders of Owain’s theater opening. At this point, it’s seemed like it was Elise’s achievement, since she showed more excitement for the actual event. That, or maybe Xander didn’t expect that much time with Owain to really know how excited he was. 

The morning of that April 13, Elise had already picked out her own dress in advance, and was even asking Camilla for help in doing her makeup. For a seventeen year old girl, she wore makeup, but she was never skilled in doing any type of formal makeup. That’s where Camilla came in. 

Xander woke up rather early, like he always did. He didn’t even need an alarm anymore, it was like clockwork. After having lunch, he started getting ready. Being part of an important family in the country served its purposes when it came to getting ready for a formal event. He didn’t need help at that point, it was all memorized. This time, he opted for a deep maroon suit. Nothing special, after all, it was just the opening of a new theater, owned by the friend of his brother. Another formal event for him, even though Elise was more than excited. 

Camilla made sure to speak with Owain about the ballet classes with the so famed ballet teacher for Ylisse, and Owain made sure Elise would be in those classes. The theater opening meant for Elise that the classes would start soon, and she couldn’t wait for them. Xander was happy, seeing his little sister so excited and bearing genuine smiles made him hope that maybe she wouldn’t have to have such a bad college experience like he did. Not if being with her family made her happy rather than scared. When Xander was young, he only had his father and a baby Camilla; Not the best of upbringings. 

“Dear Xander, are you ready?” Camilla’s voice came from the other side of the door. “We leave in 20 minutes, but little Elise is making sure that everyone is already dressed and ready to go.” 

“I am ready.” Xander answered, walking to the door and opening it. The purple and black design hugged Camilla’s hips in a way that showed off her beautiful body, purple hair falling freely down her shoulders with just transparent hair clips pining her bangs to the side. Both her eyes could be seen, that was new. “You look stunning.” Xander complimented her, she smiled. 

“Glad to see you appreciate my hard work.” Camilla gave him an honest smile, the sound of pride in her voice when she spoke of her designs was always there. 

“Oh, you designed it? No wonder it’s beautiful.” 

“You flatter me, brother. It’s a pity you can’t use those charms to get a pretty lady by your side.” Camilla winked and started walking away, leaving Xander embarrassed by his bedroom door. 

On the other side of the hallway, another bedroom door opened, and out walked Leo. Wearing a different, more comfortable, yet still classy suit. While Xander decided to go with the classic, Leo wore it more loose, comfortable, with an oversized blazer, than instead of looking hippie, looked stylish. He probably didn’t even pick it out, but at least it still looked good. 

Leo walked by, he was talking on the phone and he looked rather stressed. Xander decided not to mention anything. Once the four of them were ready, they got on the limousine, and gave the driver the directions. Leo gave them to him, apparently Owain has already texted him the direction. 

“I’m so excited, I have never seen ballet live!” Elise said, looking at Camilla with a bright smile. “I bet it will be the most beautiful thing ever!” The four of them sat on the limousine, Camilla and Elise together on one side, and Leo and Xander facing them. Leo was using his phone, texting away, typing fast. It looked like business work. 

Xander placed a hand on Leo’s shoulder, which made him come back to reality almost quickly. Leo looked at Xander confused, turning off his phone and waiting for him to speak. 

“You seem troubled.” 

“Nothing, really, just, Niles.” he said, like that was supposed to explain everything. It wasn’t business work like Xander had originally thought, but Leo made it sound like it was just as draining, even if it was in a different way. Leo’s phone kept receiving messages, one after the other, for quite a long time. Leo groaned, and silenced his phone. Xander chuckled. 

“Well, your friends seem like a handful.” 

“You have no idea, they just don’t know when to stop. Apparently, the little get together we have planned for Owain, you know, the one Niles and I planned about two days ago,” ah yes, Xander remembered. They told him they were going to invite their close friends and congratulate Owain on finally doing something that isn’t being weird and a nerd; those were Niles’s words. “Well,” Leo continued. “Niles wanted some, well, he wanted something, so I told him that was illegal and… I’m rambling, my apologies, he’s just a weird dude.” Leo muttered, placing his phone on his pocket, not to be seen again. 

“I don’t know Niles that much but that does sound like Niles.” Xander said, to which Leo smiled. 

“If it’s illegal, Niles will want to do it.” Elise piped into their conversation, leaning forward in her seat. “Also, I hope you like balconies because Owain reserved one just for us.” 

“How do you know?” Leo asked, looking at Elise like she was crazy. “When did you speak to him?” 

“I speak with Owain plenty! He’s a fun guy and I like to be around him.” Elise shrugged as she blushed. “What, can’t I be friends with your friends, that’s pretty mean, Leo.” Elise stuck out her tongue, to what Leo was genuinely offended by. 

“Elise, don’t stick out your tongue like that, you’ll mess up you makeup.” Camilla spoke. Her tone as calm as it ever was. 

It didn’t take long to arrive to the theater. The theater was bigger than the four of them anticipated. A dark paint and gold lights that gave a magic vibe from afar, which gigantic, tinted entrance doors on the front. Marble stairs that led to them, with gold guardrails. It looked directly from a book. Probably exactly what Owain wanted. The parking lot was full, and Xander wondered just how many people did Owain invite to get the place this full.

Luckily for them, they wouldn’t have to look for a parking spot. The limousine drove them to the front, and the door was opened for them. Waiting for them directly on the stairs, stood Severa, Beruka, and Niles. Owain was nowhere to be seen. Xander had invited Peri, but she had plans already, so she couldn’t go. 

The lobby of the place was even more impressive and beautiful than the outside. Dark marble floors, that went up to the walls too. Lights string from the ceiling, and they all met in one big chandelier. Couches and coffee tables rested on walls and against the pillars of the lobby, and people were already sitting on them, drinking from champagne glasses. It looked exactly like a fancy gathering, something Xander, or any of the other three for that reason, expected from the place. 

“This sure is impressive, for Owain’s doing.” Leo said, looking around. He could see people that were clearly Nohrian, but people from other countries were there as well, even if it was just a few. People were wearing their formal wear, he couldn’t see any faces he recognized, given that most of the time there were formal parties, some people from high aristocracy in Nohr were always there. This seemed to be more personal, yet there were many people there Xander knew Owain didn’t personally know. 

Elise looked at everything, her smile never fading. If Xander knew Elise loved the arts so much, he wouldn’t have hesitated to put her in classes years ago. Apparently Elise didn’t trust his big brother enough to ask that of him… that or maybe he was thinking it too much. 

As they stood a few feet from the entrance, they could hear people chattering amongst each other, yet they stood in the same place. Not knowing anyone was actually better than having to mingle, after all, they were only there to watch the show. 

“I should go ask about the so called balcony that Owain reserved for us.” said Leo, he started to walk over to the desk. That’s when Severa almost instantly hid herself behind Camilla. 

“What’s wrong, dear?” Camilla asked, but didn’t attempt to move out of the way. Severa thanked her inwardly. Xander and Elise were watching her now, why was she hiding anyway? 

“Nothing!” Severa said, almost quickly. “I think I saw someone and-“ 

“Severa?!” 

“Oh there she is.” Severa walked out of her hiding spot, if it could be called that in the first place, and that’s when they all saw the blue haired woman walking over to them. She looked about Severa’s own age, and she also seemed to know Severa personally. 

She walked over to their group, but paid absolutely no mind to anyone else that wasn’t Severa. Her blue hair fell perfectly down her shoulders, not one hair out of place. Blue eyes that showed a nostalgic air when she looked at Severa, and her arms raised to hug her. Severa hugged back, even if slowly. 

“Severa!” she said, finally pulling away from the hug. “It’s been so long since I last saw you! We lost contact, and Owain never gave me your number, so I couldn’t speak to you.” 

“Yeah, I guess that’s on me.” said Severa as she looked around, nervous. “My mother’s not here, is she?” 

“Oh, no, only my father, Lissa, and Emmeryn.” she said, smiling at Severa. Severa turned from her and faced at the others. 

“This is Lucina, my friend from Ylisse.” was all Severa said, her face looking away, avoiding all forms of eye contact. “She’s also Owain’s cousin.” 

“You’re Owain’s cousin?” Elise asked, looking at Lucina. Her head tilted to the side as she looked at Lucina up and down. Her accessories didn’t match her dress, which was kind of obvious, but she seemed oblivious to it. Oblivious or she just didn’t care. Xander was sure Camilla was holding back a comment on the matter. “You sure don’t look it.” 

“Elise, that’s not very nice to mention.” said Xander, placing a warm hand on Elise’s shoulder. 

“Oh, uhm, sorry, I didn’t mean it in a bad way, I promise!” Elise said, now blushing. “I meant to say that Owain’s blonde and your hair is, well, blue.” 

“Well, his mother is my father’s sister, we just happen to not look alike.” Lucina said, calm and composed, not how she looked when she spoke to Severa. Xander noticed the quick change of tone. “You must be, Elise De’Nohr.” 

“Oh, yeah!” Elise said, not a bit surprised, they were all used to people recognizing them on the streets. It was normally the very own people from Nohr and Hoshidans, due to their not-very-good relationship. They didn’t expect Ylisseans to recognize them. “I didn’t expect you to know that, since you’re Ylessian, right?” 

“I am, but it’s my duty to know important people from other countries.” she looked like she was going to keep speaking, but she heard her name being called, “I need to go, the show is about to start.” she said, then turned to Severa. “It was good to see you again, old friend. I bet Inigo will be happy too.”

“I doubt it, I won’t be seeing him.” was all Severa said, crossing her arms. Lucina just muttered a quick ‘oh’, and walked away over to her family. Before anyone could mention anything else, Leo came back, he and Niles being followed by one of the employees of the theater. 

They were led to some stairs, going up to what seemed a big enough balcony for ten people. They all sat down, and once everyone was accommodated, they could appreciate the entire auditorium. High ceilings with paintings and another chandelier in the middle, this one bigger and more intricate than the one on the lobby. Walls that formed beautiful stone designs, and a fancy, black carpeted floor. An enchanting proscenium arch was the showstopper of the entire theater. Lit up in warm lights, it was certainly grandiose. The stage, hid by a curtain of red deep velvet. An orchestra pit at the bottom of the stage. It was fantastic. 

The ten chairs were in two rows of five, and Elise made sure to sit in a front one and in the one were it was easier for her to see the entirety of the stage. Once she sat down, both Camilla and Xander day besides her. Leo sitting besides Camilla, and besides him, obviously, Niles. 

The entire auditorium was full, balconies upon balconies, also full. Chatter ran through the entire theater, and when the lights dimmed, that’s where everything fell silent. 

Curtains slowly going up, and a light shone on the stage. A spotlight, directly on Owain. Everyone’s attention was on him, yet he didn’t seem one bit nervous. A warm welcome was given to everyone, and a small introduction of the theater was done. Xander was impressed how he managed to actually speak clear words, yet still hold the typical Owain vocabulary. It wasn’t a long introduction, Owain had said it would be a night filled with different talents in the area of dance, including the appearance of apparently the most talented ballerino on the world. How they managed to get him, Xander had no idea. 

Xander didn’t know who this person was, or what he looked like. Going off by the various whispers that erupted across the auditorium, he could guess the guy was a huge deal. 

The curtains closed again, but it didn’t take long for them to open again and reveal a much different scene. The music started, and that’s when the ballerinas started doing the much known Dance of the Four Little Swans, from the Swan Lake. Owain has explained that it wasn’t a formal ballet, since they would also be showcasing other types of dances. The ballet pieces would just be pieces from classical valleys known to almost everyone. Obviously Swan Lake was going to be there. Xander would even bet on the Nutcracker. 

The four ballerinas were done, a simple bow, and they ran off stage. A simple voice on the microphone spoke up as a man walked on stage with an air of confidence and grace. “Now, a variation of Act Two of the Nutcracker.” 

The music started, and Xander was the most mesmerized he had ever been on his life. This dancer moved with such ease. Every jump was executed perfectly, and his spins with grace. He couldn’t take his eyes off of him. The most beautiful man he had ever seen on his life displayed such talent as he danced. Even at such a distance he could see the man’s face, though blurry, he could tell that the entire dance was easy for him. Truly a seasoned dancer. 

The way his arms raised as he jumped, extending his hands. In such a short dance, barely a minute long, Xander could feel himself wanting to see more of this man. He wanted to see him dance again. He wanted the rest of the show to be only him. 

Once the variation was over, he could hear the applause from the people, and he did not hesitate to join in. As soon as he walked off stage, he felt himself slumping back to his seat. When had he leaned forward? That seemed uncharacteristic of him, he was never into ballet that much. But this dancer, or ballerino, was that the word? That ballerino was so graceful in every movement. A kind of talent that just differed from every other ballerina he had ever seen. A true passion for dance lies behind him. Xander needed to see more of him on stage again. He just needed too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :D anyway thanks for reading!!   
> you can find me on both instagram and tumblr under the @ of badgamergal 
> 
> kudos are appreciated! comments even more!


	5. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The little get-together at the De’Nohr’s mansion doesn’t go that great for Inigo. . . In fact, it goes awful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Here’s Chapter Four! I have to thank everyone who reads this story, thank you so much for your kudos! Also, thank you so much for the comments. I read the comments every single day over and over because they always bring a smile to my face.   
> Enjoy this chapter !!   
> This time, Inigo’s point of view !! 
> 
> i apologize for any mistakes, i write these in the spur of inspiration and edit about three times, yet i have no one to beta for me, so i apologize

Dancing on stage was already an every day work for Inigo. It was what he did for a living. He went out on any stage and danced his heart out. It never calmed the nerves or the anxiety, but once he started dancing, the focus that he needed to put on each step, it made it easier to forget the people watching his every movement and judging him. It was something both he and his mother did. Dancing, they just became different people. Azura had said it million times before, she had said that dancing made him look more bearable than actually talking to him and finding out his bad flirting habits. Inigo just laughed every time she said that, he knew she didn’t mean to offend him. Or at least that’s what he wanted to think. Azura was still a mystery, even after ten years of being friends with her. 

Dancing on his mother’s stage was totally different. It felt like dancing back home. A stage where he could truly feel connected to his mother. Not only with the dance, but with the entire place around him. Every movement was in his mother’s honor. Every movement was a show of what his mother could do as a dancer and a teacher. Even if his mother didn’t see it that way, Inigo danced in her honor and for her. 

When he walked out of his first variation of the night, he could see his mother looking at him with pride in her eyes, he rushed to hug her. No one spoke backstage, it was obvious that people needed to be silent, but hugging Olivia, hugging his mom after his first dance on the theater she had wanted ever since she started dancing herself, it was a conversation on its own. Inigo could convey every word he wanted her to know with a simple hug. He was proud of her, just like she was proud of him. He pulled away for the hug, Olivia had more stuff to attend to, it was a busy night after all. He could see, at the back, away from all the dancers, his father, Robin, and Morgan sitting in some couches. He walked over to them. 

He needed to get changed, after all the ballet presentations he needed to do a Viennese Waltz with his friend, Ninian. It had been a long time since he had seen her, she lived really far away, and only saw her in worldwide dance competitions, but they got… somewhat along. As long as he didn’t flirt with her too much and make her uncomfortable, they could have a normal conversation. Or as normal as it got, with Inigo, it was unpredictable. 

Sitting down in the same couch as Morgan, he could see his father was reading a book. He didn’t notice Inigo sit down, and Morgan was FaceTiming someone. Her screen showed the stage. Morgan must be facetiming someone from the back, the sound booth was at the back of the chairs, and it was a perfect view of the entire stage. 

“Why?” Inigo whispered as he pointed at her phone. She could see the presentations from the side of the stage, even if it wasn’t the best view. 

“So I can see it better.” Morgan whispered back, but her eyes didn’t leave her screen. She didn’t congratulate Inigo on his variation. It wasn’t that she didn’t appreciate Inigo, or didn’t want to recognize his talent, but after a lifetime of seeing Inigo dance, she had given her fair share of compliments. “Seeing it from the side, that sucks.” she whispered again, after a few seconds of silence. 

Inigo felt someone tap his shoulder, and when he turned around, Owain stood there, smiling. Inigo quickly stood up and faced him; he smiled back. Owain was wearing a decent suit, but it didn’t look traditional at all. The shades were red, yellow, and brown. They didn’t clash, somehow, Owain made it work. His hair was the same spiked mess it always was, Inigo liked it that way. It sure drew attention. 

“Nice suit.” Inigo said, biting his lip in amusement. Owain blushed, Inigo guessed it was of embarrassment, but the good kind. If he remembered well, Owain got made fun of a lot based on his choices of how he presented himself, it never got to him, and apparently it still doesn’t. He’s the same Owain Inigo remembered from ten years ago, only this time, puberty is not a factor in his life anymore; and it did a great job. Last time Inigo saw Owain, those ten years ago, he still had braces and his fair share of acne. Just like any normal teen, but girls tended to be pretentious. He wasn’t muscled, but Inigo had to admit that Owain looked good. Inigo could never think of Owain that way, though, they were friends. 

“Nice tights.” Owain whispered back, in retaliation. “That was a wonderful dance, Inigo, I never would’ve imagined you would become such a skilled dancer.” 

“Oh, you dropped the theatrics to compliment me? I’m honored, Owain, I-“ 

“Inigo,” Olivia walked over to them and took Inigo’s arm softly. “You need to go change, the Romeo and Juliet pas de deux is coming up soon, and we both know that’s a long one.” she whispered before running off to the back door and to the green room. 

Inigo nodded, and before Owain could say anything else, he walked off to get changed as fast as he could. He had little help, everyone was tending to their own stuff, but if he asked nicely, someone would help him get the stuff he couldn’t get. 

For the balcony pas de deux in Romeo and Juliet, the stairs went down stage left. That was the few elaborate piece of scenery that was truly intricate. They couldn’t have a set stage that wasn’t fitting to every single dance that it was going to be performed. 

The focus was never fully on the male, most of the time, it was the woman. She was the one on her toes doing the many turns and incredible acts of flexibility and strength. They always made it look so easy, like it wasn’t years of training. Luckily for them, Inigo had danced with the ballerina before, especially this piece, all they had to do was refresh it. Learning an entire variation in one week could be close to impossible unless you practiced the entire 24 hours of the seven days. Physically impossible. As he danced, lifted her up, and made sure to forget every single eye on him, it felt like it was barely one minute dancing an almost seven minute long variation.

As they walk back to the sides, they could hear the clapping. Owain walked out almost instantly, and announced the intermission. Due to it being a grand opening, people could go back out to the lobby, they were giving out small appetizers so they could drink and eat to their heart’s desires before going back and seeing the rest of the show. 

Normally, Inigo loved those 30 minutes. He could stretch, make sure his body was warmed up. He could practice a little, moves that were tricky, and polish them a little bit more. That night, he wanted to go back on stage and finish the last dance he had to do. The Viennese Waltz with Ninian. She was already dressed, and there was someone doing her hair. 

Inigo walked over to her, trying to calm his nerves. “Hello, Ninian, how’s it going?” he said, sitting down on the chair besides hers. 

“Pretty well.” she said, turning her head just a little to look at him, faint smile on her lips. 

“Are you nervous?” 

“Everyone is always nervous. We practiced this waltz so I’m not as nervous.” she said, turning back to the mirror, where she had a bottle of water and a granola bar. Inigo smiled faintly. There wasn’t much to say, he was also nervous, but he had anxiety almost all the time whenever he was supposed to go on stage, he just threw that part away from his mind when he danced. The only time he didn’t need to remind himself to smile. 

The intermissions weren’t that long, with the amount of stress and dressing, and trying to stay quiet that everyone went through. The minutes flew by, and before Inigo knew it, Owain was back out there, glamorously welcoming everyone once again before the next dancers walked out. They would dance a simple, traditional tango. A beautiful, passionate dance that Inigo was skilled at. It impressed the ladies more than ballet, especially since he’s a man; that’s the only reason he learned it. Still, it was a beautiful, hard dance, involving legs getting mixed up all together in a mess Inigo was lucky to understand. After the tango, another ballet variation walked out. It was their way of saying ‘At the school we teach many kinds of dance but it’s mainly ballet.’ 

His and Ninian’s Viennese Waltz was close to the ending of the show, so when it got closer, he was already dressed, and took her hand. As they walked on stage, the music had already started. They started their dance. 

The both of them moved elegantly across the stage, Inigo leading and twirling her by the arm, making her dress turn in a beautiful display. He looked only at her in every moment, not wanting to look at the crowd. It was his secret to staying calm, only his mother and Azura knew of it. He lifted her up a few times, nothing too elaborate, since it was a simple waltz, but enough to hear a couple amazed gasps from the crowd. At the end, they curtsied at the public, and walked back off stage. 

Inigo sighed a breath of relieve, and took the uncomfortable blazer off. The one thing he hated about waltz, was having to wear a suit. He instantly walked over to the couch where Morgan was and hugged her. She tried to pull away from the hug, saying she was watching the current ballet being presented, so she needed not to be disturbed. Inigo didn’t listen to her. He just laid back on the couch and closed his eyes. He couldn’t wait for the night to be over and finally sleep. 

On Morgan’s bag he had his phone, so he quickly took his sister’s bag and reached for his phone inside it. It wasn’t hard to find. All Morgan has in her bag was her headphones, phone charger, maybe like some eyeliner, a few pens and some scrap paper, and oddly, an apple. Looking at the hour, he sighed. Barely 10:15 pm. The show would end in fifteen minutes and he could finally go home. 

Sadly for Inigo, that wasn’t the case. As soon as it all ended, the curtains closed, and everyone started leaving. That’s when a few dancers started leaving too, except the ones from Ylisse. They took out a small table were a cake stood. A congratulations one. Olivia quickly hid her face, embarrassment taking over her, but surprisingly, she didn’t run away. Owain walked over to the cake and smiled. 

“Such act of kindness! I am emotionally indebted to all of you, your dances come from the heavens! My own dark words are not enough to convey these deep emotions.” he complimented them in his own weird way. 

“I know this has been your dream, both of you, so, we’re here to congratulate both of you.” said one of the dancers. “But this was mainly your mom and uncle’s idea.” 

“Whom!?” Owain gasped as he looked at the door, then back at the cake, and back at the door. They didn’t appear or entered, but Owain was still looking around. “My mother is here? Such news never arrived to mineself, where do they lie? I must see them before I go!” 

“Owain!” the typical voice of Lissa was heard, and from the front curtains, there she entered. Chrom and Lucina following close behind. 

“I told her there was a door we could go through.” Chrom excused themselves from walking through the curtains instead of the door, Olivia shook her head, saying it was no big deal. 

Lissa hugged Owain really tight, not letting go for a long time. Inigo chuckled softly. One thing he was grateful about is that his mom would never drag that much attention to them in public. Lissa hadn’t seen her son in a long time. Inigo visited his family, probably once every year, and he made sure to stay in contact. Owain didn’t seem to do that very much. It wasn’t because he didn’t love them, but maybe he had forgotten. Inigo didn’t know. 

They ate the cake, and most of them said their goodbyes. They had to go to the hotel everyone was staying at, because they paid for a plane ticket for them all in two days, just so they could tour the city a little. Most of the dancers had never been outside of Ylisse if it wasn’t for international competitions. 

Inigo was still dressed in his suit, but he had taken the uncomfortable parts off. The bow tie, blazer, and vest? Off. He had the button up shirt with the pants, which were oddly tight fitting to his thighs, that had never happened before but he wasn’t going to complain about pants. Once the place was almost empty, even his mother and father had started to back to go back to the apartment they would be staying at for at least three weeks more. That’s when Owain approached him. 

Lissa had left, so had Chrom and Lucina. It was barely them at that point, so they could speak as loud as they wanted. It wasn’t like they were going to speak loudly anyway, but there was no one around them. 

“Inigo my dear friend let me extend to your graceful hands the invite to this humble celebration, friends of mine have made a comfortable get together, and I,” Owain started to stumble on the last words. “I was curious as to, well, oh if you wanted to come.” 

“Oh! Thanks, Owain, but my ride here was my mom and I don’t know if I could walk all the way from here to there, much less during 2:00 am in Nohr.” Inigo looked apologetic, taking a small step back, he bumped into his sister, who was oh so sneakily listening to their conversation. 

“I want to go!” she said, butting in, “You’d drive me back, right?” Morgan stood besides Inigo, holding his arm so he couldn’t walk away. 

“It would be my pleasure!” Owain said, easily slipping back into his usual self. He only seemed to falter around Inigo, and he noticed that. Maybe Owain wasn’t as comfortable around Inigo. If that was the case, Inigo felt awful. He couldn’t stand a close friend of his childhood suddenly being unable to hang out with him. Before he could say anything against Morgan going to some party, his sister spoke again. 

“Great! I’ll tell mom and dad that we’re going with Owain, okay Inigo? Now, go get your bag, because it’s getting late and we don’t want to leave any more late than planned.” she said, and left hopping towards Robin and Olivia, who were speaking between each other. Inigo took a small second to look at his parents. Robin holding Olivia’s hand, both very close to each other, he could see how his mom was tired, and was almost relying on his dad to stay awake. It was adorable, he wished he had a girl he could share small moments with. 

“The fruits of her father’s upbringing have just blossomed, she is but an evil, dark mastermind.” Owain said, fondness in his voice as he looked at Inigo with a smile. Inigo turned to look at him and crossed his arms, he smiled back. 

“Oh yeah? What is that supposed to mean?” Inigo asked. On the corner of the far left wall, a table stood, with a plain duffel bag on it. It was his, a few comfortable shoes, the casual clothes he arrived in, and more amenities lied there. Inigo started walking over to the table, Owain close behind. “Are you saying my father is an evil, dark mastermind?” 

“They are both smart, strategic people who know just how to press the buttons and acquire their simple desires easily. Your precious sister in a more… not subtle way.” Inigo took notice that even though Owain was not being extra or using his complicated vernacular, that even he had trouble understanding sometimes, that Owain wasn’t really uncomfortable at all around Inigo. Maybe he just did not speak like that all the time. “Last time I saw your sister, she was but thirteen and was still weaving her way into my mind. I gave her about five dollars from my allowance every single week, and I don’t remember why.” 

“That’s just Morgan. Thankfully, I’m immune to her adorable charms, or whatever she calls it.” Inigo took his bag and slung it across his shoulder. “So, Dragons and Dungeons made you more of a nerd, huh?” 

Owain looked both embarrassed and offended. “Dungeons and Dragons, Inigo! And I don’t know what you mean nerd.” 

“Oh come on, you’re talking like this now but, you usually just, I don’t know, get a cold and go all, a dark curse has befallen me!” he started making an impression of Owain, with really badly done mannerism. “The witch , a dark sorceress who lurks in the shadows, waiting to strike me down!” 

“Oh come on, you don’t have to mock me!” Owain pushes him just a little. “At least I don’t go around making women uncomfortable.” 

“That’s true, you don’t make women uncomfortable, you make everyone uncomfortable.” Inigo laughed at his own joke, when Morgan finally caught up to them. 

They got in Owain’s car, nicer than Inigo expected, but it was a mess on the inside. Clothes, books, he saw a board game on the back, opened. Empty cans of soda on the floor, and a couple of beer bottles. Inigo looked at Owain with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. 

“It’s my roommate Niles.” he quickly said, “He, uh, uses this car more than me, and he’s also a mess.” 

“A bigger mess than you?” 

“Can you two shut up?” Morgan said from the back, leaning forward on her seat to speak to them easily. “I don’t want to arrive at midnight, I wouldn’t have enough time to do whatever we’re going to do.” 

The ride wasn’t that long, the streets were empty. At least, the streets Owain was going through were empty, and he wondered just how remote this place was. Inigo looked out the window in silence, and that’s when he came to his senses and realized his feet hurt. They hurt like hell. He was used to his feet hurting. Sometimes, practicing on his own, he would go and practice with pointe shoes, and needless to say, his feet weren’t in the best condition. Inigo didn’t mind, but it didn’t change the fact that his feet were in pain. 

He raised his legs and placed them on the seat. His hands slowly traveling to grip his toes through the shoes. Maybe, when he arrived at the place, he could ask Owain if they had any ice or bandages, or by a miracle and grace of Naga, some Aloe Vera for the swelling there was sure to happen. Inigo just hoped there wasn’t a blister, it’s been so long since he’s let his feet breath, there probably was one. That’s on him. 

Inigo looked out the window, and realized there weren’t any buildings or houses anymore. They were on a dirt road. “Where are we going?” he asked. 

“Oh, my friend’s house. He has a, big house, and a lot of terrain.” Owain said, not really paying attention to Inigo or the conversation. Just on the street and not falling asleep while driving. 

“Who’s your friend?” Morgan asked. She didn’t have her headphones in, which made it easier for her to just but in into conversations. 

“Leo De’Nohr, met in college.” Owain did a curve, and that’s when Inigo saw the gate, yet, he didn’t see a house anywhere. Just how much terrain did they have? “Been close companions in life ever since.” 

“You’re friends with the De’Nohrs? The owners of the company responsible for most of the pollution on the seas and oceans?” 

“My loyalty lies in one of them, and he’s just a lawyer.” was all Owain said, not looking at Inigo, just down the now smooth road. Inigo looked out the window, deciding to leave the topic alone, he really wasn’t going to argue, his mind was too busy thinking about the pain. He probably had a blister, that wasn’t good and if his mother found out she would once again tell him every single way to prevent it from happening, like Inigo hadn’t heard that speech before almost a thousand times. As he looked out the window, he could see they were no longer in wild forest trees. The road was smooth, not bumpy and with holes like the ones on the normal streets. A huge garden spread for longer than Inigo could see. It was nighttime, dark, but still a big garden. A few lamppost illuminated the road, and up ahead, he could see a brighter light. The house of the De’Nohrs, Inigo guessed. How full of themselves their ancestors must’ve been to name an entire country after themselves, or maybe it was the other way around. Inigo didn’t know anything about them, and he didn’t care enough. 

It didn’t take long before they went up a small hill and Inigo could see the house better. It was beautiful. The entrance walls were made of carefully organized stones that were probably centuries old. The rest of the house expanded in different ways, and as eccentric as it looked, it also gave a modest air to it. Dark marble stone stairs that highlighted the warm light of the front porch. Rows of windows that seemed to be never ending; Inigo could count at least five stories in the house, and not to count the rest of it inside. 

Inigo felt a bit intimidated by the house itself. Maybe everyone’s talk of the De’Nohrs being millionaires was a lie. They were billionaires, if the house is to be the judge of their fortune alone. 

Inigo opened the door to the car once Owain turned the car off, and walked out of it, trying to hide his limp. “Hey Morgan, could you help me a little here?” 

“Do tell what is wrong, my dear friend?” asked Owain, looking at Inigo with concerned eyes as Morgan helped Inigo stand normally. “Do you perchance feel ill ridden?” 

“My feet hurt, nothing to worry about!” he smiled. It wasn’t real, but it was a smile. “As a dancer, I’m quite used to my feet hurting. Do show me the way to the closest bathroom.” 

“I certainly will, come this way.” Owain walked over to Inigo and took his other arm, helping him stand even better. 

“I’m not losing a leg, guys, I don’t need double support.” 

“Don’t worry, princess Inigo, we, your loyal retainers will take good care of you!” winked Morgan, looking at Owain so he could follow her act. Inigo groaned. 

“I, Owain Dark, will not rest until the cause of your pain is eradicated from this world, my Liege!” and Owain really got into it. “Why, for thy must know that I truly will dedicate to make sure you are covered and secured through your every need!” 

“Yes! My Lord Liege Inigo, I would also hunt down the, uh… bad thing that made your legs be completely worthless!” Morgan said, way worse at improvising than Owain was, but she tried only to amuse both of them and herself. 

“I swear on Naga!” muttered Inigo, looking down and blushing. “What if someone hears you two!? They’ll look at us like we’re crazy!” 

Before Owain or Morgan could reply to that, a voice from a few feet away could be heard. They were not going through the front door, Owain had mentioned before that the small get together would be on one of the smallest gardens on the side of the house. The three of them were walking towards the gate, when it suddenly opened and a blonde teen walked out. 

“Owain!! You finally arrived! Oh you brought guests– You’re that dancer!” before Inigo could process anything, the blonde girl was running towards them and stopped abruptly in front of them. “I am Elise! I was there at the show! You dance like a princess!” 

“Aw, you hear that Inigo? A princess!” Morgan cooed at his face as she raised a finger to try and boop her brother’s nose. Inigo quickly swatted Morgan’s hand away so he could answer to Elise. Elise spoke up again. 

“Oh! Who are you?” she asked Morgan, a bright smile on her face. She couldn’t be any older than eighteen, where was she getting all this energy? 

“The princess’ sister,” she smiled back, not as energetic as Elise, but just as uplifting. “My name is Morgan!”

“I am glad we all got to meet each other but,” Inigo looked at Owain with pleading eyes, “bathroom, please.” 

“What’s wrong?” Elise looked at Inigo, and that’s when she noticed that he was technically being carried by both Owain and his sister. “Are you hurt? Are you ill?” 

“Don’t worry your pretty little head, I probably just have a blister.” mumbled Inigo, smiling again. Elise gave him a nod and turned around. As she walked, Inigo could hear the faint, lively chatter of everyone. It didn’t sound like a lot of people, which Inigo was glad about. It also meant that paying attention to him would be easier. Everyone saw him dance, he can’t take compliments well, he’s not used to them… fuck, he shouldn’t have come, damn you, Morgan.

As soon as they entered the small garden, Elise tried to take them to the door as quickly as possible. Sadly, thanks to Niles, that wasn’t possible. They were quickly approached by Niles, who made sure to be loud. Really loud. Inigo looked away embarrassed, everyone’s eyes were on them. He wasn’t aware of a special set of eyes looking at him with pure shock, but he could feel everyone’s stares. He hated it, and wanted them to stop staring. 

He turned to Elise, “Bathroom, please.”

“And you’re that pretty dancer, aren’t you?” Niles looked at Inigo, a smirk clear on his face. Niles stood besides Inigo, not noticing how he accidentally pushed Owain away, and he took the spot. As Niles wrapped an arm around Inigo’s shoulder, he winced. “Oh, did my arm hurt you?” his smile didn’t leave. 

“Of course not, but my feet hurt and I was truly relying on Owain, thank you for that.” he barely whispered as he leaned on Morgan now. 

“Niles, shoo, go with Leo, or Owain, I’m taking Inigo to the bathroom!” Elise said, looking at Niles in defiance, it was truly adorable. 

Inigo truly wanted the ground to swallow him up. What was it with everyone and just getting everyone’s attention? Couldn’t they see that he just wanted to tend to his feet? As Niles laughed softly, he took his arm away from Inigo’s shoulders and walked over to Owain, basically dragging him away from Inigo. That made Inigo die a little inside. He was planning on spending the time with Owain to avoid having to talk to anyone else, but apparently that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. 

Elise smiled, and took Inigo’s other hand with easy trust. “Come on! Follow me! I’ll take you to the bathroom, it’s right-“ 

“Elise, Camilla is calling for you.” Inigo saw a tall, blonde, handsome man approach them. He was wearing a fancy attire. It was probably a suit but he had apparently taken the blazer and the tie off, leaving him in the button up shirt. The way the fabric clung to his biceps was mesmerizing, how much did this man exercise? “She says she needs to give you something really quick.” 

“But I have to take Inigo to the bathroom!” Elise complained. Inigo looked at the man, who looked back at him briefly before looking back at Elise. 

“I can take him, you just go make your sister happy.” Xander smiled faintly, and before he knew it, both Elise and Morgan walked away. Elise has let go of his arm rather enthusiastically, and took Morgan by the hand, dragging her away from him. The last thing he heard was Elise saying how they would become great friends, and Morgan’s laugh. 

Next thing he knew, a strong arm was wrapped around his and they started walking to the door that led inside. As Inigo limped, he tried not to stare at him in the face. He would probably say something truly embarrassing and ruin his dignity along with it. Once they walked through the door and it closed, silence engulfed them. Inigo was sure he could hear his own heartbeat. 

They were in some kind of small room. A semi circular couch with a coffee table in the middle, and a bar on the other side of it, half of it alcoholic drinks, the others were just normal, non-alcoholic ones. It wasn’t a big room, but it looked like it was just for drinking. How rich do you have to be to have your own personal bar at your house. Sadly, there was no bathroom in that room. 

He started to forget who was taking him to the bathroom, and more focused in how long it would take to get there. His feet were killing him, he was probably just making his blister worse by not putting any effort in not walking. 

“If you don’t mind me asking,” the man started, and Inigo looked up at him, nervous. He wasn’t sure what color where this man’s eyes. A beautiful maroon was the color that could come close. It didn’t matter the color, Inigo just looked at him, anxiety running through his entire body. “Are you injured?” 

“Something like that. Not anything I’m not used to, but it doesn’t change the fact that it hurts.” Inigo said, looking down at the floor. He was limping, and both his feet hurt. Putting his weight on one foot to alleviate the other foot was just making things work. At this rate, he might as well cut off his entire foot. 

“What happened?” the man asked as the crossed another room, going directly a door quickly besides the one they entered. The bathroom wasn’t huge, but it was fairly decent. Inigo sat on the corner of the bathtub, and placed his right foot over his left leg, quickly taking the shoe and the sock off. He could hear the man wince at the sight of it, thankfully, he didn’t say anything. 

Inigo looked at it. Swelling a little, he still had one bandage around his foot, and a bandaid on two of his fingers. No wonder his feet hurt so much, besides the swelling, he had two blisters. One under the toe, and the other one on the side of it, and that one got quite big. His mom better not see it. 

“This isn’t good.” he whispered, putting his foot down, but not against the floor. He raised the other foot to check it too. That one had no blisters, but it was swelling a little. “I need to pop these.” 

“Isn’t popping blisters bad? They could get infected.” said the man, still standing on the forest watching the whole ordeal. “How did you get those? They look terrible.” 

“Well, dance comes at a price, and that price is beautiful polished feet.” mumbled Inigo. He was tired, hurt, and his sister had dragged him to a get together when he had blisters on his feet. What was he supposed to do? Just let a man watch him pop his blisters? He would rather die. 

“Is it all the standing on your toes?” he asked, walking over to the cabinet of the bathroom and pulling out a first aid kit. “Because it would make sense.” 

“Pointe doesn’t normally give you blisters. Not being responsible while putting on your shoes gives you blisters.” said Inigo, taking the first aid kid and avoiding eye contact at all costs. He could see it wasn’t a normal first aid kit, it had way more than was necessary. There were needles for stitches, which was exactly what he needed. 

He started taking what he needed out, totally forgetting that handsome man was still standing on the doorway, watching him silently. Inigo took the hand sanitizer, the alcohol wipes, and the needles. He hated popping his blisters, but what else could he do. It wasn’t until the man spoke again. 

“If you’re going to do it, let me help you, at least.” The man sat besides him, at a distance, but Inigo could feel his own nervousness rise. “I doubt that’s gonna end up being pretty.” 

“I don’t even know your name, how can I trust you with my feet? They’re my moneymaker.” he said, making a joke to clearly hide the fact that he was mildly uncomfortable in the situation. He never had to pop a blister in a stranger's home while some random, handsome guy watched. 

“You don’t,” the sentence trailed off, getting lost in thought for a mere second, before a smile quickly returned to his face. It wasn’t a huge smile, just a small one, but it wasn’t a fake smile. Inigo was good at recognizing those. The smile made him feel like he could trust him, even if just a little. “You’re right, I haven’t introduced myself. Xander.” 

“Inigo.” he said, giving him a smile in return, forgetting for a second the entire ordeal. “Well, Xander, I appreciate the offer but I know how to pop blisters pretty well, I’ve been doing it for almost my entire life.” 

“That doesn’t sound so good.” Xander’s eyes were fixated on Inigo’s movements. Inigo had placed the needle in the fire of the aromatic candle, and was letting it cool off. His movements weren’t really thought out, Xander noticed. It was second nature. 

Inigo concentrated on his feet. Thankfully, only one of his feet had blisters, the other was just swollen and it hurt. Every single time it happened, he remember the way Olivia had fussed over him. Telling him to never dance without making sure the shoes are comfortable and dry. She was the one who taught him how to pop a blister. Being a dancer, one couldn’t let the blisters just heal away for two weeks. Those would be two weeks were one would miss out on practice; They couldn’t afford missing them. He wiped the area with alcohol and stuck the needle in, letting out a small hiss of pain. 

It wasn’t a long process, but it did hurt. After both blisters were emptied of the clear liquid that came out, Inigo rubbed alcohol again, and put a band-aid over them. 

“See? Without help.” Inigo looked at Xander, who, for some reason, was still waiting for Inigo to get ready and leave the bathroom. He stood up from the bathtub’s edge, and quickly sat down again. “I really do like it here! No responsibilities whatsoever, I’ll just watch my feet get normal once again. Sure, a long process, but it sure is worth-“ 

“Don’t lie to yourself.” Xander stood up and offered his hand. “I’ll help you to the couch, don’t worry, it’s no bother at all.”

To Inigo it was. A huge bother. He didn’t need to be carried or helped, he’s a big boy. Big boys don’t need help getting to couches or chairs because their feet had a little blisters. All he could do was shake his head and put his socks and shoes back on, it was probably a mistake but no point going back now, he was stubborn and anxious. 

“That’s an act of stubbornness stronger than those of my sister.” Xander amused himself as he stood besides Inigo. One of Inigo’s hands was against the wall, using it as his support, but he was still limping. It wasn’t necessary, he could walk normally, but Inigo preferred to avoid most of the pain. “I can’t let you hurt yourself in my house, let me be a good host.” 

Inigo stopped in his tracks. His house? Was he the owner. Inigo had to be honest, he had never seen a picture of Garon De’Nohr’s children; He barely knew their names. All he knew was that he hated Nohr Oil Co. with passion and anyone associated with it. Maybe hate is a strong word, but until Inigo can find a better word, he would use that one. He looked at Xander, his face unreadable, he did not know what to say. Inigo always told himself that if he meets a De’Nohr, he would say exactly what he thinks of their lifestyle. Now? All he wanted was to walk away from him. He took one step more, trying to get a way now, and away from the conversation.

“This is your house?” he asked, looking him in the eyes. The air was tense, they both noticed. It earned him a simple nod from Xander. “So, you’re Xander De’Nohr, I take it.” 

“Yes, I am.” Xander straightened up. He didn't know that Inigo’s demeanor would turn so distant if he knew his last name. “Is that a problem.” 

Inigo didn’t say anything for a short while, taking one more step towards the door that led to their mini bar room. Xander didn’t step forward. “I don’t feel comfortable around people like you.” 

“People like me?” 

“People who’ve made their riches and profits at the cost of the environment and well-being of other types of habitats and even countries.” Inigo spoke without thinking, his hand reaching for the handle as he walked normally. A little limp on his step, but he needed to get away. “M-Maybe it’s not you directly but by standing and doing nothing, you’re just as bad as the rest, and as bad as your father, and-“ 

Inigo wanted the ground to swallow him. Had he really just said that? He didn’t know Xander, he didn’t know his father. All he knew was the company and their actions, and here he was, acting rashly against someone who’s shown absolutely no hostility the entire time Inigo’s been there. Despite not even being invited in the first place. 

Inigo opened the door and left, he needed to find Morgan, Owain, and leave. He couldn’t stay one more minute in this place, where he just ran his mouth at the heir of a multi-billionaire company because he didn’t like them. He called him a profiteer in the bad way, and he needed to get out. 

Why was he such a mess?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof, Xander and Inigo meet and Inigo just went straight for it. Inigo now feels bad, I’m an expert in doing that.   
> remember, in the comments, u can still write if you’d want more Owainigo or Xanlow. I have most chapters written already, but who’s gonna be endgame here, is entirely up to the comments and such ;) 
> 
> you can find me at @ badgamergal in both instagram and tumblr 
> 
> Kudos appreciated! Comments even more !!


	6. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Owain has thoughts. They’re not so good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another Owain narrated chapter! :D Glad my boy is back, not glad he’s worrisome in this one. You’ll see what I mean.   
> Personally I’m not a fan of the narration in this one, but I am still proud of the effort I put into this chapter, so enjoy! :D

Elise didn’t expect to get along with Morgan so well. She always did her best to be nice to everyone and befriend every single boy or girl her age. It almost never worked, and when it did work, they tended to be close to her due to her status, or it wasn’t real. Her brothers and sisters had said so many times before, it still hurt her when it happened. When she saw a girl her age coming at the small get together, she instantly dragged her along. She didn’t mind being with Camilla, Leo, or even Xander; she was with them all the time, though. Hanging around with a bunch of mid-twenty year olds wasn’t fun either. They complained about work, and she complained about high school. 

Sitting on a table with Morgan was like liberation. Turns out, they were actually similar in a few aspects. Not a lot, they still had their differences, but at least they could hold an entertaining conversation together. Elise liked that. She instantly took the entire sandwiches tray and brought it to the table they were sitting in. Morgan quickly dove in, so did Elise. 

“Your brother dances amazing! I always loved ballet, but I never took classes when I was young.” Elise said, chewing through a sandwich as she spoke, caring not for manners, it was midnight after all. “That’s why I’m going to take the classes of the theater!” 

“That’s amazing! That means my mother is going to be giving you classes!” Morgan said, tucking her pink hair behind her ear, it was falling all over her eyes. “She’s the best dancer you will ever meet.” 

“Do you dance? It seems everyone in your family is a skilled dancer.” Elise leaned forward in her chair, enthusiastic about learning more, which Morgan was not used to at all. Everyone knew his mom and Inigo on a personal level back home, she never got questions of his family, or praise towards her brother and mother. 

“I take more after my father.” she shook her head. “We’re more level-headed, if you could even call it that. I don’t think my dad is coordinated with his feet, or maybe he is and never told me.” Morgan shrugged, like always, she was blabbering, speaking too much. Elise didn’t seem to mind. She was listening, not wanting to miss a single word. “All I know is I can’t dance and Inigo always mocked me for it. In the sibling sense of mocking.” 

“I never had that dynamic with my siblings!” Elise’s voice was filled with shock, as if siblings mocking siblings was an outrageous remark. “Everything is about how much they care and love each other, especially Camilla. Corrin said she tends to be a bit too clingy most of the time, but I like it that way.” 

“That’s funny, I normally wake up Inigo by jumping on him and calling him a turd.” Morgan finished her sandwich, and smiled proudly at her statement. “Makes him angry every time!” Elise giggled, reaching for another sandwich. 

“How long are you going to stay in Nohr? We should definitely hang out more, Morgan! I don’t have many friends, I would love to be friends with you.”

“Well, I don’t know, mom says we’ll stay for a month, and my apparently I’m going to spend my birthday here in Nohr.” she looked around the garden, taking in the chatter from people. She saw Severa, but according to Cordelia, Severa wanted nothing to do with anyone from Ylisse anymore that wasn’t Owain. She didn’t know why, neither did Cordelia, but she wasn’t going to overstep those boundaries. 

It had been a week, almost, and she missed Ylisse greatly already. He didn’t know how Inigo felt, but at least she knew he hated Nohr to a degree. She looked back at Elise, and gave her a sided smile. “Probably two months maximum.” 

“Well, we should spend those two months together! If you’re not from here, I bet you don’t have many friends, and I’ve lived here my whole life!” Elise proudly said, smiling brightly. “I could introduce you to Effie! She’s my best friend, I bet you two would get along greatly!” 

“Are you saying I can’t make friends easily?” 

“T-That’s not what I meant at all, I just,” 

“Just messing with you, Elise!” Morgan laughed, taking out her phone and unlocking it. After opening the Phone App, she handed her phone to Elise quickly. “There, type your phone number! I would love to hangout, besides, I’d love to be the one having fun and Inigo be the one sulking in his room.” 

“Why would be sulk in his room?” Elise furrowed her eyebrows, her smile disappearing. She looked concerned. “Is he lonely? He could hang with us!” 

“He’s not very fond of Nohr itself, he sees it as too grey,” she made quotations marks with her fingers in the word ‘grey’ and quickly dismissed it. Once she realized what she had said and to who she said it, she quickly spoke again. “He never said it’s ugly or that he hated it! He, uhm, he just said it’s not really his thing. Ylisse is very different.” 

“I’ve never visited Ylisse!” Elise said, her smile quickly appearing again. To anyone, it could’ve been seen as Elise quickly forgetting about the fact that Inigo hates Nohr, but Morgan knew Elise just wanted to change the topic as soon as possible before Morgan duh her own grave. 

Morgan thanks Naga for that, because she didn’t want to say anything wrong. She was more than happy to talk about how wonderful Ylisse is. “It’s beautiful! So many forests, the wildlife is beautiful, the apples are delicious, the sky is always bright, it’s so different from Nohr, you know?” 

“Yeah, I would think so, I mean, many countries are different from Nohr, right? We’re like the ugly duckling that’s super rich.” 

“That’s a good simile!” Morgan laughed. She opened her mouth to speak again, when she noticed a very flustered, very embarrassed looking Inigo limping towards her and Elise. “What is wrong with him?” she asked to herself out loud. 

Elise turned around. Once she saw Inigo, she smiled, but almost instantly the smile disappeared because she had never seen anyone look like they had done the worst thing ever to be done… ever. Elise looked at Morgan, and then back at Inigo. “Is he okay? He looks guilty and scared at the same time.” 

“That’s probably because he is. He probably said something stupid and embarrassed himself.” she whispered. Inigo was pretty close to their table so she closed her mouth. Morgan didn’t want to reveal Inigo’s deepest secrets, after all. Inigo took a chair and sat down, wincing a little when he put pressure on his foot. Yeah, blisters. Morgan knee it couldn’t be anything else. She also knew that wasn’t the reason he looked anxious. 

Inigo crosses his arms on the table and rested his head on top. He groaned loudly. Elise stood up, gave Morgan a look of ‘I will leave you two to whatever you two are up to’, and walked over to her sister. Morgan sat there, not knowing what to do, and every second, Inigo’s groans got louder. It was embarrassing and annoying. She knew Inigo enough to know that he wasn’t having a good time at all. It was probably his own fault. She also knew he would stop groaning until Morgan asked him what was wrong or what happened to make him groan that badly. 

Scooting her chair a little bit closer to her brother’s, she also rested her head in her arms; Imitating his position. “So,” she said, muffled because of her arms. “What did you do?” 

“I accidentally told Xander De’Nohr that he’s a bad person because he works at his father’s company.” he mumbled, sounding pained, as if he was remembering the moment. “I said that his money comes from killing trees and destroying the oceans! Who am I to tell him that? Why did I even say that? Am I an idiot?” 

“Yes, you are.” 

“Gee, thanks, Morgan.” 

“Listen, Inigo.” Morgan day up straight again and placed her hand on Inigo’s shoulder. He turned his head so he could look at her now. “You did something embarrassing, happens to the best of us, you know? So let’s go home so you can go cry in your bed out of embarrassment.” 

“I’m not going to cry!” Inigo sat down and looked at Morgan, his expression showing offense. His voice raised a little, but quickly lowered it out of fear of people looking his way. Morgan smirked, enjoying seeing Inigo beating himself up in the most stupid of ways. Inigo glared at her, but sighed defeatedly almost instantly. “Lets just go find Owain so he can take us home.” 

Owain was sitting on a table with Niles and Leo. Leo was praising Owain’s success. Saying that Owain’s ego was growing by the second would be an understatement. Every single comment he had received that night had been a praise to his and Olivia’s work on the theater. The dedication and hours of work and paperwork they got went through to get it done. All worth it. Olivia would use it more than anything, having now a fraction of her school in an entire different continent, and finally a theater to perform her performances in. Owain would use it for his works, works that he still needed to finish. Waiting for those days would be worth it, if he could see Inigo dance in every single one of the performances. 

Niles was talking about how Owain finally had a serious job, a running joke between the three, but Owain was lost in thoughts. Excusing his absence of mind with tiredness, he kept looking towards the door, waiting for Inigo to walk out. After a few minutes, he had given up, but he was still worried. He shouldn’t have let Inigo alone with a stranger, not when Inigo had problems with being looked at. Looked at. Owain knew better, he was like a flirtatious version of his mother. 

“You’ve been looking at the door for a while now, Owain.” Leo interrupted Owain’s thoughts, he was eating his tomato like an apple. Habit that both Niles and Owain found disgusting, but it wasn’t like they were going to stop Leo from eating his favorite fruit. “Is anything bothering you?” 

“Ah, my apologies, my mind is not my own tonight, but the darkness that surrounds my thoughts is taking control this eve of morning more so than any other dark night.” 

“Okay, well, if anything has you worried, you know you can tell me, we are friends after all, and-“ 

“Hey! Owain! Inigo wants to leave, he embarrassed himself like always, and now he wants to go home.” Morgan said, sitting on the chair besides Owain as if she was invited to the table. It wasn’t that Morgan wanted to be disrespectful and wanted to interrupt them, but she needed to say it quickly before Inigo dug a hold and crawled inside of it, never to be seen again. It was weird how similar, yet different, he was to Olivia. Robin and Olivia sure birthed weird children. 

“Oh, Inigo wants to leave? Of course, a hero must answer to any desperate plea!” Owain stood up from his chair, so did Morgan. “I will see you two tomorrow, but until the hand of fate brings us together again, I will-“ 

“Leaving now, theatrics later! Let’s go, Owain!” Morgan started dragging Owain by the arm to leave, not leaving him a chance to say goodbye in the most outrageous and dramatic of ways. 

On the sidewalk of the house, right next to the car, stood Inigo. Leaning on the side of the car using his phone, headphones in. Owain looked at the way his white hair fell down his forehead, the wind of the night weaving the strands over his beautiful eyes, concentrated on the screen that shone a light on his face. Owain was completely lost in the beauty he saw Inigo as, that he didn’t realize that he was already in front of him. He smiled. 

Inigo did look embarrassed. There was no mistaking an embarrassed Inigo. Red ears, looking around nervously, hands fidgeting with the pockets of his pants, avoiding eye contact. Owain placed a hand on Inigo’s shoulders and gave him a friendly squeeze. 

“Let’s go.” Owain muttered, not bothering saying anything else. It was uncharacteristic of him, only saying two words, but Inigo needed to suffer in silence, that’s how he liked it. 

The car ride to the apartment they had rented out was silent. The faint sound of radio music, the sound of text messages being typed and sent coming from Morgan, and the small snores of Inigo, who had fallen asleep as soon as Owain started driving. His head was rested against the window, while his hand rested neatly on his lap. 

Owain remembered that every time Inigo would end up asleep in a car, or in a school bus, or any method of transportation, he would always complain about his neck when he woke up. Without missing one time, and Owain thought it was hilarious. Now, it was endearing. Maybe Severa was right. Maybe it is a little bit more than a crush, but Owain wouldn’t call it love. It was a strong word, and he couldn’t love a man who he hadn’t spoken to in ten years. 

Owain shook his head. He needed to find anyone else. He couldn’t still pine over Inigo, who most probably had a very beautiful girlfriend. He hadn’t seen him flirt at all in Nohr, and he didn’t speak about girls that much. He was either gay, or already found the girl of his dreams. Owain opted for the latter. His Instagram was full of videos and pictures alongside the blue-haired lady. Owain could never compete with her. A talented, beautiful woman. It wasn’t a competition in the first place. Owain was not a competitor for a price he couldn’t obtain for obvious reasons. 

As he parked, he decided that if Inigo couldn’t love him back, he would at least cherish the one month to hang out he had. Inigo leaving for another ten years was not a risk he was willing to take. Putting on the brake and the gearshift in parking, he started tapping on Inigo’s shoulder to wake up. 

He shifted in his seat, hands going up to lazily rub his eyes. “‘stim ist” 

“Pardon me… what?” Owain had no idea what Inigo just said. He was obviously trying to say something in english, but it was so slurred that not be word was understandable. Inigo’s face went red. 

“Time.” he muttered again, opening his eyes. “Fell asleep, m’sorry.” his speech was still tired, but Owain didn’t mind. 

“It is no big deal.” Owain smiled. Inigo smiled back, and before he could say another word, opened the door to leave the car. Owain’s hand moved instantly, grabbing his arm and pulling him back in. 

He wanted to say more. He wanted to invite him out. He wanted to go inside and play video games like they used to. He wanted to ask for all that. He couldn’t. That’s when he realized he had absolutely nothing planned when he pulled Inigo back into the car. Inigo looked at him confused, clearly not knowing why Owain was stopping him from entering the apartment to finally sleep his shames away. 

“I was thinking, I noticed, you don’t like Nohr.” Owain said, finally finding some words to say. Inigo said nothing, ashamed to admit it. How does one express a distaste for a country without sounding rude, after all, “I understand. It’s definitely not like Ylisse but, some stuff here is good! Maybe we could go out tomorrow and I can show you the good places and markets of the city. Maybe I could change your opinion on it!” 

A ploy to get Inigo to like Nohr and want to stay in it, most probably. There wasn’t anything he could say now to back down, he was stuck with a hanging offer. His entire dignity depended on what Inigo answered next. 

“I would like that, tomorrow, technically today, thankfully is a free day… You would have all day to try to convince me that Nohr isn’t as bad as I think.” Inigo smiled, stepping out of the car, but standing on the door. “Pick me up at lunchtime, or breakfast, we could go grab a bite.” and with that, he closed the door and entered the condominium. 

Owain drove away with a smile. He couldn’t wait for the next day. Even if it was a friendly outing and not a date, it was still a full day with his childhood best friend. After all, they needed to catch up. 

~

It wasn’t a date. Owain knew that. He knew that more than anyone. It was getting tiring how many times that morning Severa had said “It’s not actually a date. You know that.”, but Owain wanted to look his very best. There was absolutely nothing wrong with that. If Inigo complimented him, that would be a bonus. It’s definitely not what he’s achieving. Not at all. Okay, maybe he did want to look good, but Inigo looked good all the time and he needed to match. 

He looked at his closet, and for the first time in his life, he understood Maribelle when she said she had nothing to wear. He always sided with his mom when she said that she was overreacting, but now? Maybe Maribelle had a point all those years. 

He stood with his hands on his hips, so lost in thought that he didn’t notice Niles leaning against the doorframe of his room. Looking at Owain with an amused smile as the blonde fretted over his clothes. 

“Well sweetheart, you sure seem in a rush.” 

“Not now Niles, I don’t have time.” 

Niles steppes into the room, paying no mind to Owain’s comment. He looked at the bed, a few clothes sprayed out, then back at Owain, who was deciding shoes. “What happened to ‘the darkness of my soul will not be contained’ and shit? Are you going on a date?” 

“It’s not a date!” Owain’s cheeks turned pink, Niles’s dismisses it as embarrassment. “I’m going out with an old friend and it’s been years since we properly hung out.” 

“This person must be really special if it keeps your mind busy enough to not think about your constant lines.” 

“I don’t need to think! The dark words express themselves in a way I can only convey through such magnificent speech to do it justice!” Owain looked at Niles as if he had said the most offensive comment ever to be spoken. “Just- Stop, I’m getting dressed.” 

“And I can’t watch?” Niles smirked. 

“Leave, Niles!” 

“Why don’t you make me leave?” Niles took another step more, deeper inside the room, and sat on the bed. “Make it hurt, will ya’?” 

“I do not have time for this Niles, I’m going to pick him up.” Owain opted for a nice shirt, and jeans that Niles gifted him one time. The only gift Niles gave him that he actually used. The others were just a mockery. Niles didn’t leave the room. He laid down on the bed, and took out his phone to scroll down social media. 

Owain knew Niles wasn’t going to leave. He sighed defeated. If anyone entered the room, they would think the two of them had just slept together. Given the fact that Owain was shirtless, getting dressed, and Niles was on his underwear, laying on the bed like it was his. Owain didn’t mind, he had been friends with Niles for a long time now. ‘Sleeping together’ hasn’t been the worst rumor about the two of them. Leo was sometimes added into the equation of the rumors, but it was mostly Niles and Owain. Specially now, that the both of them shared a big apartment together. 

Owain finally finished getting dressed. Walking out of the room without even saying goodbye to Niles, he just grabbed the keys to the house, car keys, and his wallet. Normally, he took the bus, but if he was going to try and show Inigo the good parts of Nohr, the bus were a huge no. Getting on the car and driving to the apartment wasn’t as fast as he thought it would be, it felt like hours. And the silence just made it worst. When a call came through the phone, connecting to the bluetooth of the car, he answered it without looking who it was. 

“Owain! Where are you!?” it was Severa. For some reason, she sounded annoyed. Owain has no idea why she was calling him, or why she was looking for him. They hadn’t made previous arrangements, right? “I just called Niles, and he said you’re meeting with an old friend. A friend from your childhood, if it’s Inigo, I swear to the g-“ 

“It is Inigo, Severa.” Owain said, not feeling like dealing with Severa’s worry or her apparent hate for Inigo. “It confuses me why Inigo is deserving of your ill bearing feelings. Resentments I thought you had buried.” 

“You wouldn’t understand! Apparently you don’t think with your head and think with your dick.” 

“How would I be thinking with my dick?” Owain whispered, face going red in both fluster and embarrassment. “I don’t want to fuck Inigo, I’m just going to-“ 

“You’re nervous and everything! Listen to yourself, you’re changing again how you act again!” she sounded really annoyed with Owain. Even when her intentions were good, he voice and her tone never were. “You’re so stupid, you don’t even notice.” 

“I’m not going to listen to your insults, Severa.” and with that, Owain hung up the call, not realizing that he was already pulling up to the driveway of the fancy condominium. Inigo already sitting on a bench outside, waiting for Inigo. 

He had his headphones in, looking at his phone screen with such intensity that made Owain realize he was probably watching a video. The white of his hair contrasted beautifully with the blue of his shirt, and the way the flannel on top showed his arms just made Owain realize that maybe he was a little bit too deep in his feelings. But they weren’t love. Severa was wrong, she always is when it comes to matters of the heart. Maybe Inigo was pretty, maybe he was stunning, but he wasn’t the prettiest man in the entire world. The why did Owain only felt this way around Inigo? Surely, men like Xander, basically thirst traps, would catch his eye more. Or maybe like Leo, although not as tall or muscular as Xander, he still was a handsome guy. Why Inigo? 

Owain shook his head, stupid thoughts vanishing away. He lowered the window. “Waiting for someone, fair maiden?” 

Inigo looked up from his phone as he took out one earphone, he smiled, amusing Owain. “I’m not a fair maiden. I’m not even a maiden.” 

“Then why did you answer in the first place?” 

“You got me there.” Inigo entered the car and closed the window. “Stupid nohrian air, I’m going to get asthma. Or worse, lung cancer. Or even worse, I’ll grow accustomed to this air and turn into a boring businessman.” 

“That’s not as funny as you want it to be.” Owain still laughed. 

“Whatever.” Inigo whispered as he took his phone and put it in his pocket. Owain didn’t know where to go. The whole idea for going out was to show Inigo how Nohr can be a good place to live, that it’s not only an industrial lifestyle. One problem, he didn’t know where to start. Owain liked some restaurants, some cafés, there was an amusement park outside of the city. The fair was in town, and they could even go to the main plaza. 

Those were things Owain could do in some of his spare time. What did Inigo do in his spare time? That was a thing Owain had no idea what the answer was. 

“What do you do for fun?” 

“Dance, dance, dance, eat, sleep, and back to dancing.” 

“I take it not much.” Owain chuckled. As he just kept thinking of places to go, he decided to first take him out to get breakfast. Even if Inigo had already eaten, he hadn’t, and he was hungry. “First destination in this adventurous quest of ours… breakfast.” 

“It’s weird, you know?” Inigo said. The car had already started moving and Owain was in silence. He was never silent. Inigo looked at him and gave him a faint smile. “You’re quiet, which is a rare thing, apparently, even after ten years of adulthood. And even when you speak, it doesn’t have that typical Owain charm to it.” 

“I, oh uhm— yeah, I’d… charm?” Owain was more than flustered. Maybe he was reading too much into it, but had Inigo called him charming? 

“Yeah, it’s charming. Makes me feel like I’m in some kind of adventure and you’re a warrior, after all, you never shut up about the darkness of your sword hand.” Inigo reached over to turn on the radio of the car, ignoring the buildings outside and focusing his entire attention on Owain. It made Owain even more nervous than he already was. He did not expect Inigo to flat out call him charming! Or even compliment him! How was he supposed to react? Should he call him charming back? Should he say thank you? Saying thank you just sounded off, like he was caught off guard; Which he pretty much was! 

“I thank you!” Owain smiled brightly, trying desperately to hide the fact that he was happy in a way he shouldn’t be. “For it is a pleasure to know that my words have not only inspired me in my quest of a life, but also a dancer of the very own heavens.” 

“My dancing is decent, Owain.” Inigo blushed embarrassed and looked away. 

“Calumnies! Such talent as yours will not be quenched by treacherous words that birth from that same mouth.” 

“Is that your way of telling me to shut it?” Inigo laughed, turning to look at Owain again. The blush in both their cheeks was unmistakable, yet they lied to themselves and decided to believe it wasn’t really there. “Because if so, it works! I will stop talking now.” 

“You mistake my words! I-“ Owain’s tone drastically changed, thinking he had offended Inigo somehow, which was exactly what he didn’t want. That would be the opposite of what he wanted. 

“I’m kidding, Owain, you seem very tense for some reason.” Inigo laughed. Owain just looked at him, then back to the road. He was not cut out for driving. It was the simple reason that whenever something made him stressed, or worried, he would not think straight. Driving required concentration, and he didn’t have that. He didn’t realize that driving with Inigo in the passenger seat would make him as tense as Inigo said he was, but alas, he was. 

“Driving makes me nervous.” a simple excuse, and it worked. “I, normally take the public transportation, this car is Niles’s and mine, but he uses it more than I do.” 

“Who’s Niles?” that’s when it hit Owain. Inigo had absolutely no friends in Nohr except for Owain and Severa. Severa didn’t even consider Inigo her friend anymore. It was only Owain. Part of him liked that. He liked being the only one in an entire country to truly know Inigo and how wonderful and talented he was. The other part felt sad, he knew how awkwardly social Inigo was. If he wasn’t cowering in anxiety, he was flirting with women and getting rejected. How he managed to make friends back in Ylisse was a mystery. 

“Niles is a friend of mine, he’s actually my roommate! I should introduce you two.” Owain didn’t realize the weight of his words. What would Niles even do if he met Inigo? It’s not like Niles was known to restrain himself, quite the opposite. Owain could’ve taken the proposition back, but he then saw Inigo’s shy smile.

“I don’t know, Owain, I don’t think-“ sadly, Inigo was interrupted by Owain’s phone ringing. He cussed his own phone silently, but reached for it anyway. “Don’t use your phone while driving! That’s dangerous! Here, give me that, I’ll put it on speaker and… my mom is calling you.” Inigo looked at the ID with a confused expression. Forgetting for a quick second that they were both owners of the same theater. Owain made a simple gesture for Inigo to answer the call. 

It was silent for a few seconds, when Olivia’s voice came from the phone. 

“Hello? Owain, are you there?” her voice was soft, and mildly confused, there was absolute silence from Owain, and there was nothing stranger than Owain silent. 

“Ah yes! Fair Olivia! Apologies for making you doubt! What dark affairs you call upon me for?” It wasn’t difficult for Owain to slip back into his own, usual speaking patterns. 

“There’s some business at the theater we need to quickly attend! Could you be so kind to please come? If it’s a bother, you don’t have to, I could handle it myself, but it would be better if the both of us… you know, we did it.” Owain noticed how her voice got progressively quieter, often happened when she started rambling and dwelling on a subject for too long. She tended to apologize too much too. 

Owain looked at Inigo. He didn’t want it to end. Heck, the day hadn’t even started and he already had to leave. He couldn’t feel more guilty and horrible for leaving Inigo planted on the middle of Nohr. Yet, Inigo didn’t seemed bothered at all. Was he even looking forward to spending the day with Owain? Maybe he had agreed to go out because it was late and he wanted to leave. Owain felt suddenly self-conscious about everything. Olivia’s voice brought him back to reality. 

“Owain? Is it okay with you?” 

“Yes! Without a shadow of a doubt, Owain Dark shall be there to aid you and answer to your call of help.” he said, glancing at Inigo apologetically, yet Inigo looked at him and smiled. The phone call ended and Owain sighed. “I am deeply sorry that our adventure has come to a grimm finale, dear friend, my hopes for a-“ 

“Owain, it's alright.” Inigo spoke. Placing a hand innocently on top of Owain’s, like friends do sometimes. Yet, that simple gesture sparked feelings in Owain. Feeling he was sure he wasn’t supposed to be having. This man was truly the light and darkness in Owain’s life. Owain never felt so lost. Maybe Inigo coming back into his life wasn’t so good an idea if Owain was going to be swooning every second over him like a fifteen year old. “You can just drop me off at the nearest park, I’ll walk around, maybe find a supermarket and buy some apples. I’m not bothered!” Inigo’s smile was reassuring. Owain couldn’t help but smile back. 

“You truly have the most beauteous of souls, Inigo Grima. Mayhaps, I will pay this debt someday back to you for your understanding, the forces of darkness of which I battle hold no strength on me when you deliver such kindness upon my-“ 

“Shut up and drive, nerd.” Inigo laughed. 

“Oh- uhm… yeah!” Owain blushed and drove to the closest park. One of the few spots that were grassy, with trees, benches, and a small park for the children. 

Nohr, being one of the most industrial countries, the main city didn’t have any natural forests or woods. The others cities of the country did. The most famous forest was rumored to be one of the darkest forest in the world, needing a flashlight to see what was right in front of you. A few green organizations had bought terrain in the main city so they could plant trees and make parks around the streets. Those were the five parks in Nohr City. 

Once out of the car, Inigo closed the door before Owain could even say sorry or goodbye. An action as simple as that, got Owain thinking. He barely got to spend any time with Inigo, yet, he didn’t seemed bothered at all. Was it all in Owain’s head? Severa was right, he needed to stop crushing on straight men, especially if they’re going to be none other than Inigo. The flirt. Not able to say anything else, he just drove off, thinking about the man who just wouldn’t leave his thoughts. Only, this time, his thoughts were not exactly positive. Maybe Inigo coming back into his life would not play out as Owain had thought it would, and that scared him even if just a little. Why had he made these images of him and Inigo in his mind? Why would he torture himself so with moments that would never come to pass? Was it masochism? Was it hope that maybe one day someone would love him just as he is as more than a friend? Then, why did it had to be Inigo?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> O o o o o o h! They didn’t even get to hang out. If they end up being endgame ( ;) not gonna tell anything ) nothing will be easy rides, sweeties. Inigo’s a dumb bitch. 
> 
> Kudos are appreciated! Comments even more!   
> I read every single comment again and again, simple things, big things, any comment! Please, do tell if there are grammatical errors, my first language isn’t english. Haha. 
> 
> Enjoy! Kudos and Comment!


	7. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Xander and Inigo find each other at one of the parks in Nohr, and funnily enough, go shopping together. This gives Xander a lot to think about

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! This chapter is a bit shorter, but I have so much planned for the next chapters, so fasten your seatbelts!!   
> My chapters are not beta’d, so if you see any spelling mistakes, do tell me, because reading them over and over again never works, haha.

He couldn’t stop thinking about what Inigo had said. Xander had tried to sleep it off, but it wasn’t possible. Inigo hadn’t said anything new, or nothing he hadn’t heard before. He knew that his father’s company damaged the environment, yet no one had ever dared to tell him that to his face. He could hear the news, the gossip channels. He could see the rallies that formed outside the factories that they owned. They all spoke of the same thing, about how Nohr Oil Co. is ruining the environment and they deny it. If it focuses on Xander though, it’s more about how he’s the handsome billionaire bachelor from Nohr. It’s not that he doesn’t like being handsome, but being featured on the gossip channels because he’s handsome is not how he planned making his name. 

The conference meeting became draining with every second that passed by. Xander did his best to pay attention, to write down in his laptop what was important, the next new deals, the best way to earn more money for their pockets. 

“We can’t raise the prices.” said one of the women in the table. It was an oval shaped table, with Garon at the end of it as head of it. At his right hand, sat Iago, and at his left hand, sat him, Xander. 

“I don’t think you can decide that, Cassandra.” Iago spike, Xander did his best to ignore everything he said, after all, he was just a suck up to his father. Iago wanted the company to end up in his hands once Garon retired, not Xander. “Xander, you’re finances, what do you think?” all eyes were suddenly on Xander. He quickly straightened his back and cleared his throat, it was barely 10:00 am, yet he wasn’t fully awake still. Pretty sure that the coffee in his cup had already gone cold. 

“As of last October, sales went up a 16 percent more, no raising of cost was necessary at the moment. What we had done last time was expand the, ahem, products, over the neighboring countries. It would be even beneficial if we could expand our market.” 

“Expand our market?” this time, his father spoke. A silence fell over the room, Garon rarely spoke, he just looked at everyone with a condescending look, and when he did speak, it was to insult someone’s work. “What do you mean by that?” 

“Overseas. Expand our market overseas, to gain more,” Xander was in the middle of speaking when Iago interrupted him. 

“To what countries would we even go?” 

“Valentia is a good example, after all, Nohr has good relationships with Rigel, international shipment would be no trouble.” Xander’s response was swift, not faltering even a little bit. “Next time, Iago, don’t interrupt me.” he could see the way Iago sneered at him, and quickly stopped once Garon spoke again. 

“Cassandra, take in consideration Xander’s proposition, then, both of you together will make a presentation on the matter. Understood?” a simple nod from both of them was all Garon needed as confirmation. “This conference has ended, everyone, leave.” everyone started gathering their stuff, putting their laptops and agendas away on their briefcases as some of them got ready to go to their houses. Xander started to do the same, but was instantly stopped. “Except you, Xander, I would like to speak with you.” 

That wasn’t a problem for Xander, there was nothing his father could say that would deeply hurt him. Nothing he hadn’t heard already, anyway. What bothered Xander was the way Iago smiled at that, as if he had won a round of a game Xander didn’t even know they were playing. It was infuriating. Xander tried to pay it no mind though, and just nodded his head, placing his hands on his lap and his back straight. 

Once the entirety of the board left, Xander was left in the dark room with his father. The curtains were always drawn, the door had an opaque crystal, and the lights were off except for the powerpoint presentation that was always in front covering the agenda of the meeting. Xander couldn’t even read his father’s expression, he had no idea what was going on or why his father told him to stay. 

Even though Xander worked hard to maintain a stoic posture, he couldn’t help but feel like a little kid getting scolded. He hated it. 

“You’ve been making me proud these past couple of days.” 

That was new. 

That was completely new. Xander didn’t know what to say back to that. 

“The way you’ve been holding yourself in work matters shows true dedication to the success of our company. I have to admit that I was worried you weren’t living up to the expectations I was putting for you.” Garon stood from his chair and walked over to the windows, opening the blinds just a little to look outside. “But I can see that you truly are serious about this job.” 

“Why wouldn’t I be?” asked Xander, not turning his head to look at his father. Looking to the front or at the table. “I’ve been working here for six years, I would say that’s serious.” 

“Yes, probably.” Garon didn’t sound so sure of that. “I handed do this job in hopes that you would proof yourself to the higher ups, and even if… some of them, still have their doubts.” Xander knew he meant Iago. “I don’t anymore.” 

“What does that mean, father?” 

“You know I’m about to step down soon, and I would rather hand the company to you than to Iago.” Xander turned to look at his father. He knew he would inherit the company but he didn’t expect his father to speak about it so soon. “You best prepare yourself.” 

“I will, father. No greater honor than to work for the company you built from scratch.” said Xander finally standing up. 

“Good.” his voice was leveled and stoic. “Much better than Camilla and… Leo.” his distaste for both Camilla and Leo’s choices wasn’t unknown to anyone. He had expected all his children to have a position of high standard in the company, and was pretty angry when they decided to open their own little businesses. It took way too long for Camilla to even convince him to start speaking to her normally again. Sadly, for Leo it wasn’t like that. Especially since Leo was out of the closet publicly, it didn’t matter if he was the most successful lawyer in all of Nohr, Garon wasn’t going to accept that. Never in a million years. “You’re dismissed, you can go back to work.” 

“I was actually going to ask for the rest of the day free.” Xander looked at him, yet walked towards the door to leave. 

“Why would you want to leave?” 

“Elise has enrolled in classical ballet classes and I need to buy her the necessary clothing and of the sorts.” Xander shrugged the sentence off, hoping that his father wouldn’t mind that much since it was Elise. In Garon’s own words, Elise was the only child that hadn’t disappointed him. Xander could see Garon look at him confused, his eyebrows furrowing together in confusion. 

“Elise dances?” 

“As of recently, yes. Apparently, she loves classical ballet and since they new theater and dancing classes opened up, she asked us to enroll her and so we did.” The room was silent for a couple seconds. Xander stood there waiting for his father’s approval, and when he received a small nod, he quickly opened the door and left the room. Walking down the hallway, holding his breath and keeping his back straight. On one hand, his father had complimented his work ethic, something that had never happened in the years he worked there. Scratch that, his father had complimented him. Something that had never happened ever. All he heard from his father was a “you could do better” or a “i expected more, but this will do”. He didn’t know if it made him feel good, or stressed about the new standard he apparently set for himself. The need the De’Nohr siblings had to please his father was way too ingrained in their minds and in every action they took. Xander knew that no matter how much Leo would tell them and himself that he didn’t mind his father insulting his orientation, he knew that Leo beat himself up at night because of it. 

In his office, he gathered all his personal stuff up in silence, hoping to not disturb anyone else, or that someone caught him leaving and accuse him of not doing anything at work. Putting his papers and laptop inside his work bag, grabbing the keys, and locking the door to it. It wasn’t a lie to get out of the building, he really needed to buy Elise her new dancing attire. If the information Elise gave him was correct, there was less than three days until the dance classes started, and apparently, Camilla couldn’t go and buy her the clothes since she was too busy tending to Corrin. Corrin’s husband was off in Hoshido, visiting family, and Corrin decided to stay in her home. Camilla took that as an invitation to show up and spoil her little sister. 

Walking to the parking lot of the building, he entered his way too expensive car, and drove away. Leaving the radio off, he drove in silence. Thinking about his work when he saw a familiar white haired guy. It was Inigo. The guy who single handedly called him out on the blatant crimes against nature the company is doing. 

In his mind, going up to him and telling him that he was wrong was the best idea. It wasn’t really practical. How was he even supposed to approach him? ‘Hey! Remember what you said last night? Well you’re wrong, I’m actually a good guy.’ That sounded wrong, and like he really isn’t a good guy. He didn’t want Inigo to think even worse of him. Not that the dancer didn’t already think bad of him. 

He decided to make the quick lane change and started driving close to the sidewalk where Inigo was walking. Acting on impulse, and knowing you’re acting on impulse, is awful. Xander wanted to stop himself before he said something stupid, but it was too late. He was already lowering the window. 

“Hey, Inigo, right?” Xander said. His voice didn’t waver, but inside he was beating himself up. What was he even doing? 

“Oh, X-Xander! I- I’m sorry about last night! I didn’t mean to insult you and run like that! I, well, I think I acted on impulse. I promise you I don’t normally insult people, it’s all-“ 

Xander decided to stop him before he kept apologizing. It wasn’t Inigo’s fault at all. “It’s okay. No harm done, it’s not like you were wrong.” 

“Still, I shouldn’t have insulted you like that.” Inigo looked away. The ashamed blush on his cheeks made Xander smile. This was the guy who danced his heart out in front of some of the harshest critics of Nohr a few days ago, and now he was here, apologizing for saying something out of turn. One of those cases where the person felt more comfortable performing, Xander thought. “I truly am sorry.” 

“I do not think you need apologize for expressing your opinion,” Xander said, pulling over and parking so they could keep talking. Inigo was still outside, speaking to Xander in an uncomfortable angle. “but, if it’ll make you feel better, I accept your apology.” 

“Thank you.” Inigo finally looked at him, and smiled. Xander smiled back. 

“You look like you’re going somewhere. Want a lift?” Xander offered, unlocking the door to the passenger seat. 

“Normally I put up a fight, but, I forgot that I have no clue where anything is in this city.” Inigo opened the door and sat down. Xander noticed Inigo’s clothes. He had walked out with plans to do something, yet here he was, walking around aimlessly. “What about you?” 

“Huh?” 

“You’re wearing formal clothes.” Inigo said, pointing at Xander’s button up shirt and open blazer. Xander always wore appropriate clothes in the conferences, and now he felt way to overdressed in that car. “Wait, are you working and I just entered your car, I can leave, if that’s the case!”

“No, I just walked out of a conference meeting.” Xander’s reassuring smile was enough for Inigo to relax and finally put on his seatbelt. “Are you going anywhere?” 

“I just wanted to buy some apples, nothing much.” Inigo shrugged, looking out the window at all the buildings. Xander changed the stick to drive and started going down the streets again. “What about you?” Inigo turned his head fast, a shy smile on his lips. 

“Well, now that I think of it, you could help me.” Xander smiled, looking back at Inigo for a brief second before looking back at the streets. Inigo shot him a confused look, Xande spoke again. “Elise is taking the dance classes your mother opened up, and needs me to buy her attire for it, and I have no clue what I should buy for a ballet class.” 

Inigo let out a small chuckle, looking at his hands. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure I can help. Any performing arts store will work, every convenience superstore has them, you can just go to one.” 

“I deeply thank you.” 

“It’s no problem. I had plans for today but they had to be cut short.” Inigo shrugged. Turning form Xander to the window and looking outside. “This is better than walking aimlessly.” 

Xander didn’t speak again, neither did Inigo. Both of them sat in silence as Xander drove both of them to the closer convenience superstore. He never expected Inigo to be there, but he wasn’t complaining. Ever since he saw him on stage he was mesmerized by the talent. He hadn’t had the chance to compliment him, or congratulate him. “You know,” Xander started a conversation yet again. The silence was comfortable, but Xander wanted to keep talking with him. “I didn’t expect you to be as shy as you are?” 

“I guess I take after my mother.” Inigo shrugged and chuckled, as if remembering a funny anecdote. “She’s even more shy, if you can believe that.” 

“How do you manage to dance on stage? You do realize, those critics in the theater were probably some of the harshest in all of Nohr.” Xander reached the convenience store and parked the car, still talking. 

“Nothing I haven’t heard before. I’ve had critics from all over the world look at me and judge me.” Inigo, for some reason, was blushing. Xander found it endearing. Endearing how such a magnificent performer could be as closed off as him. Critics from all over the world? What did that mean? Was Inigo some kind of famous dancer and he had no idea? Apparently so. Xander hadn’t even looked him up on the internet, he knew nothing of Inigo’s career, except that he was very good at dancing. 

“From all over the world?” They were both out of the car, walking together to the doors of the superstore, unaware of a few press cameramen taking photos discreetly. “Just exactly how known are you?” 

“I don’t like speaking of that.” Inigo laughed. His hands drifting over to his pockets, looking for something to do with them. “According to some articles, I’m the best there is. World renowned ballerino, to them.” 

“World renowned?” Xander wasn’t completely shocked. He truly felt Inigo deserved the recognition. He had seen his talent first hand and even if he wasn’t an expert, he was amazed. “That’s quite the title to give, is it not?” 

“It is.” was all Inigo said. Once inside the store, Xander was purely following Inigo. They had entered to buy Elise her clothes, and that quickly became the only thing in both Inigo and Xander’s head. “Elise is the girl with the blonde hair right? That night, I don’t think I had the chance to speak with her.” 

“Yes, she has blonde hair.” Xander was surprised Inigo knew nothing of how they looked, yet he knew the damage the company was causing. Everyone in Nohr lives gossiping about them, and they were not necessarily good things. “Three out of the four of us have blonde hair.” Xander half smiled. 

“There’s four of you? I had no clue.” Inigo’s voice was surprised, but not completely shocked; he didn’t even look at Xander when he said that, he was skimming over the selection of tights. 

“How much do you know of us?” 

“How much am I supposed to know?” 

“Almost every Nohrian’s favorite gossiping topic is the issues of my family.” Xander was following Inigo. As Inigo walked around the store, he had no other option than to follow. And so he did. “I don’t necessarily like it, not for Elise, but trying to get involved in our personal matters is their favorite hobby.” 

“Sounds draining.” Inigo turned to look at him and threw him a smile of pity. “If I had people following me around and recording my every move for a gossip channel, I don’t think I could walk out of my house.” They smiled at each other in understanding, before Inigo quickly cleared his throat and handed him a box of a pair of tights. “These should fit her! Oh, she also needs a leotard, and slippers. Later on, she should get fitted for slippers, but since it’s the beginning classes, we could get some small or medium slippers for her.” he turned around, not looking at Xander anymore, and kept grabbing the stuff, handing it to Xander in an apparent rush. 

Xander followed without hesitation. He knew nothing of dancing, while Inigo was a world renowned dancer, so why would he interrupt another person in their area of expertise. He had about three of each, but they still didn’t have the slippers. Inigo was very worried about the slippers, he apparently wanted Elise to have good slippers that were comfortable and fitted. 

“It would be easier if she was here.” Inigo muttered as he looked at the slippers at the rack. “These kind of things kinda suck too.” 

“Which ones do you use?” Xander asked, arms full of clothes for Elise. Inigo didn’t look at him, he just shrugged. 

Once Xander had in his arms everything Inigo deemed necessary, they took the apples Inigo so desperately wanted, and headed over to the cashier. Shopping for the stuff was more entertaining than Xander thought it possible, he had no idea why he enjoyed Inigo’s company so much. Inigo had blatantly called him out during the party, but he looked so ashamed and embarrassed after that, Xander could tell it was one of those “did I say it out loud?” situations. 

Walking out to the parking lot and into Xander’s car, they put everything on the trunk in silence. 

“Are you feeling unwell, Inigo? You’re without energy.” said Xander, closing the trunk of the car. Inigo shook his head quickly and flashed him a smile. 

“Just thinking!” was all Inigo said before getting in the passenger’s seat. 

The ride was quiet. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. For a silence to be uncomfortable, both parties need to feel out of their element. Only Xander felt that way, Inigo just looked out of the window deep in thought. 

He took him back to the park, at least that’s where Inigo wanted to go. A quick goodbye, and Inigo was out of the door. Xander drove back to his house deep in thought. He enjoyed walking around with Inigo. Xander knew that Inigo wasn’t one to be with him simply because he was a man with money. That part was obvious, given the fact that the first thing Inigo did upon discovering who he really was, was tell him how much he hated Xander’s family company and the such. He could end up being a true friend, if he stayed in Nohr long enough, maybe as close a friend like Elise had with Effie and Arthur. He longed for friends like those, and he had very few of those. 

Once he saw Inigo walking away, he drove off to his home, he needed to give Elise her new clothes, and he needed to think deep once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof, a more lighthearted chapter for what is to come. It’s dramatic, but i promise nothing bad happens, or do I?   
> nah, rlly i promise, i’m excited to show you guys the next chapters! 
> 
> kudos are appreciated! comments even more!


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